head to head · open source
pdfcraft vs Papermark
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars, 7,216 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Papermark has 9,286 stars, 1,415 forks, 239 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. pdfcraft leads on adoption by 107% (19,220 vs 9,286 stars). pdfcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Papermark is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. pdfcraft has attracted 38% as many forks as stars, Papermark 15%. 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 | Papermark | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 9.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-08-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.2K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| 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 Papermark if
- You want the Papermark feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Papermark 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 Papermark
Papermark The open source DocSend alternative. papermark.com Papermark is the open source document sharing alternative to DocSend, featuring built in analytics and custom domains. Features Shareable Links: Share your documents securely by sending a custom link. Custom Branding: Add a custom domain and your own branding. Analytics: Gain insights through document tracking and soon page by page analytics. Self hosted, Open source: Host it yourself and customize it as needed. Demo Tech Stack Next.js – Framework TypeScript – Language Tailwind – CSS shadcn/ui UI Components Prisma ORM PostgreSQL Database NextAuth.js –…
read the full Papermark overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pdfcraft or Papermark more popular?
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars and Papermark has 9,286. pdfcraft has the larger community by that measure.
Are pdfcraft and Papermark free?
Both are open source. pdfcraft is licensed under Apache-2.0, and Papermark has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between pdfcraft and Papermark?
pdfcraft is written in Rust and Papermark 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 Papermark?
Choose pdfcraft if you want the larger community (19,220 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Papermark if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.