head to head · open source
pdfcraft vs Documenso
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars, 7,216 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Documenso has 15,633 stars, 3,432 forks, 238 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pdfcraft leads on adoption by 23% (19,220 vs 15,633 stars). pdfcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Documenso is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. pdfcraft has attracted 38% as many forks as stars, Documenso 22%. Documenso 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 | Documenso | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 16K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.2K | ⑂ 3.4K |
| 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 Documenso if
- You want the Documenso feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Documenso 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 Documenso
The Open Source DocuSign Alternative. Learn more » Discord · Website · Documentation · Issues · Upcoming Releases · Roadmap About Documenso Signing documents digitally should be fast and easy and should be the best practice for every document signed worldwide. This is technically quite easy today, but it also introduces a new party to every signature: The signing tool providers. While this is not a problem in itself, it should make us think about how we want these providers of trust to work. Documenso aims to be the world's most trusted document signing tool. This trust is built by empowering you to self host…
read the full Documenso overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pdfcraft or Documenso more popular?
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars and Documenso has 15,633. pdfcraft has the larger community by that measure.
Are pdfcraft and Documenso free?
Both are open source. pdfcraft is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Documenso under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pdfcraft and Documenso?
pdfcraft is written in Rust and Documenso in TypeScript. 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 Documenso?
Choose pdfcraft if you want the larger community (19,220 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Documenso if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.