head to head · open source
pdfcraft vs Docuseal
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars, 7,216 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Docuseal has 18,979 stars, 1,933 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pdfcraft leads on adoption by 1% (19,220 vs 18,979 stars). pdfcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Docuseal is written in Ruby under AGPL-3.0. pdfcraft has attracted 38% as many forks as stars, Docuseal 10%. pdfcraft was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (documents, 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 | Docuseal | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 19K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Ruby |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.2K | ⑂ 1.9K |
| 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 Docuseal if
- You want the Docuseal feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You evaluated both and Docuseal 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 Docuseal
DocuSeal Open source document filling and signing DocuSeal is an open source platform that provides secure and efficient digital document signing and processing. Create PDF forms to have them filled and signed online on any device with an easy to use, mobile optimized web tool. ✨ Live Demo ☁️ Try in Cloud Features PDF form fields builder (WYSIWYG) 12 field types available (Signature, Date, File, Checkbox etc.) Multiple submitters per document Automated emails via SMTP Files storage on disk or AWS S3, Google Storage, Azure Cloud Automatic PDF eSignature PDF signature verification Users management Mobile optimized…
read the full Docuseal overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pdfcraft or Docuseal more popular?
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars and Docuseal has 18,979. pdfcraft has the larger community by that measure.
Are pdfcraft and Docuseal free?
Both are open source. pdfcraft is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Docuseal under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pdfcraft and Docuseal?
pdfcraft is written in Rust and Docuseal in Ruby. 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 Docuseal?
Choose pdfcraft if you want the larger community (19,220 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Docuseal if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.