head to head · open source
pdfcraft vs PaperKnife
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars, 7,216 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PaperKnife has 1,525 stars, 107 forks, 47 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. pdfcraft leads on adoption by 1,160% (19,220 vs 1,525 stars). pdfcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; PaperKnife is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. pdfcraft has attracted 38% as many forks as stars, PaperKnife 7%. pdfcraft was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (pdf, pdf-tools), 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 | PaperKnife | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.2K | ⑂ 107 |
| 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 PaperKnife if
- You want the PaperKnife 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 PaperKnife 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 PaperKnife
PaperKnife A simple, honest PDF utility that respects your privacy. Preview Why I built this Most PDF websites ask you to upload your sensitive documents—bank statements, IDs, contracts—to their servers. Even if they promise to delete them, your data still leaves your device and travels across the internet. I built PaperKnife to solve this. It's a collection of tools that run entirely in your browser or on your phone. Your files never leave your memory, they aren't stored in any database, and no server ever sees them. It works 100% offline. What it can do Modify: Merge multiple files, split pages, rotate, and…
read the full PaperKnife overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pdfcraft or PaperKnife more popular?
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars and PaperKnife has 1,525. pdfcraft has the larger community by that measure.
Are pdfcraft and PaperKnife free?
Both are open source. pdfcraft is licensed under Apache-2.0 and PaperKnife under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pdfcraft and PaperKnife?
pdfcraft is written in Rust and PaperKnife 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 PaperKnife?
Choose pdfcraft if you want the larger community (19,220 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose PaperKnife if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.