head to head · open source
pdfcraft vs Papra
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars, 7,216 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Papra has 5,695 stars, 327 forks, 190 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. pdfcraft leads on adoption by 237% (19,220 vs 5,695 stars). pdfcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Papra is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. pdfcraft has attracted 38% as many forks as stars, Papra 6%. pdfcraft was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (documents), 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 | Papra | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 5.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.2K | ⑂ 327 |
| 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 Papra if
- You want the Papra 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 Papra 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 ·…
read the full pdfcraft overview →
About Papra
Papra Document management platform Minimalistic document management and archiving platform. Demo • Docs • Self hosting • Roadmap • Discord Introduction Papra is a minimalistic document management and archiving platform. It is designed to be simple to use and accessible to everyone. Papra is a platform for long term document storage and management, like a digital archive for your documents. Forget about that receipt of that gift you bought for your friend last year, or that warranty for your new phone. With Papra, you can easily store, forget, and retrieve your documents whenever you need them. A live demo of the…
read the full Papra overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pdfcraft or Papra more popular?
pdfcraft has 19,220 GitHub stars and Papra has 5,695. pdfcraft has the larger community by that measure.
Are pdfcraft and Papra free?
Both are open source. pdfcraft is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Papra under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pdfcraft and Papra?
pdfcraft is written in Rust and Papra 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 Papra?
Choose pdfcraft if you want the larger community (19,220 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Papra if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.