head to head · open source
pdfcraft vs docspell
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars, 7,216 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped yesterday. docspell has 2,343 stars, 186 forks, 235 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. pdfcraft leads on adoption by 720% (19,220 vs 2,343 stars). pdfcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; docspell is written in Elm under AGPL-3.0. pdfcraft has attracted 38% as many forks as stars, docspell 8%. pdfcraft 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
| pdfcraft | docspell | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Elm |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.2K | ⑂ 186 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick pdfcraft if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick docspell if
- You want the docspell feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Elm
- You evaluated both and docspell fits your workflow better
About pdfcraft
PdfCraft The PDF workbench; an open source, clean room reimplementation of Adobe Acrobat, rebuilt in pure Rust. Read, organize, combine, split and secure PDFs in a fast, native app, written in Rust from the ground up. macOS · Windows · Linux · FreeBSD · the web PdfCraft on getartcraft.com · ArtCraft · All Crafting Apps The PdfCraft Showcase, a 13 page specimen PDF, open with the All tools panel and threaded comments. [!NOTE] ArtCraft is a community of artists from all walks of life. Digital, generative, music, games — if you make things, you're one of us. Come say hi on Discord. Highlights · Read · Find ·…
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About docspell
Docspell Document Management System (DMS) Docspell is a personal document organizer. Or sometimes called a "Document Management System" (DMS). You'll need a scanner to convert your papers into files. Docspell can then assist in organizing the resulting mess :wink:. It can unify your files from scanners, emails and other sources. It is targeted for home use, i.e. families, households and also for smaller groups/companies. You can associate tags, set correspondends and lots of other predefined and custom metadata. If your documents are associated with such meta data, you can quickly find them later using the…
read the full docspell overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pdfcraft or docspell more popular?
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars and docspell has 2,343. pdfcraft has the larger community by that measure.
Are pdfcraft and docspell free?
Both are open source. pdfcraft is licensed under Apache-2.0 and docspell under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pdfcraft and docspell?
pdfcraft is written in Rust and docspell in Elm. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, pdfcraft or docspell?
Choose pdfcraft if you want the larger community (19,220 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose docspell if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.