head to head · open source
pdfcpu vs signaturepdf
pdfcpu has 8,895 GitHub stars, 644 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped yesterday. signaturepdf has 832 stars, 113 forks, 69 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. pdfcpu leads on adoption by 969% (8,895 vs 832 stars). pdfcpu is written in Go under Apache-2.0; signaturepdf is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. pdfcpu has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, signaturepdf 14%. pdfcpu was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (pdf), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| pdfcpu | signaturepdf | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.9K | ★ 832 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 644 | ⑂ 113 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick pdfcpu if
- You weight community size — 8.9K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick signaturepdf if
- You want the signaturepdf feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and signaturepdf fits your workflow better
About pdfcpu
pdfcpu: PDF tooling for Go and the command line pdfcpu is a PDF processing library and command line tool written in Go. It supports validation, optimization, encryption, signing, document assembly, content extraction, and other common PDF operations. pdfcpu supports PDF versions through PDF 2.0 (ISO 32000 2). PDF 2.0 validation support is basic and continuously improving. Horst Rutter, the maintainer of pdfcpu, is a member of the PDF Association. Installation Usage CLI Validate a PDF: Merge two PDFs: Go API See API documentation for usage examples. Features Validate, optimize, split, trim, and merge PDFs Extract…
read the full pdfcpu overview →
About signaturepdf
Signature PDF Free web software for signing (alone or with others), organizing (merge, sort, rotate, delete, extract pages, ...), editing metadatas or compressing PDFs. Instances List of instances where you can use this software: pdf.24eme.fr (by 24eme) pdf.libreon.fr (by Libreon) signature.pdf.hostux.net (by Hostux) pdf.nebulae.co (by Nebulae) pdf.kaosx.ovh pdf.ti nuage.fr (by Ti Nuage) pdf.cemea.org (by Les Ceméa) pdf.caph.info (by caph.info) pdf.spirio.fr (by Spirio.fr) pdf.sequanux.org (by Sequanux) pdf.deblan.org (by Deblan) pdf.ouvaton.coop (by OUVATON) signpdf.liber it.fr (by Liber IT)
read the full signaturepdf overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pdfcpu or signaturepdf more popular?
pdfcpu has 8,895 GitHub stars and signaturepdf has 832. pdfcpu has the larger community by that measure.
Are pdfcpu and signaturepdf free?
Both are open source. pdfcpu is licensed under Apache-2.0 and signaturepdf under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pdfcpu and signaturepdf?
pdfcpu is written in Go and signaturepdf in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, pdfcpu or signaturepdf?
Choose pdfcpu if you want the larger community (8,895 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose signaturepdf if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.