head to head · open source
pdfcraft vs pdfx
pdfcraft has 19,105 GitHub stars, 7,185 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. pdfx has 1,088 stars, 126 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. pdfcraft leads on adoption by 1,656% (19,105 vs 1,088 stars). pdfcraft is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; pdfx is written in TypeScript under MIT. pdfcraft has attracted 38% as many forks as stars, pdfx 12%. pdfcraft was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (pdf, pdf-processing, pdf-tools, pdf-viewer), 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 | pdfx | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.2K | ⑂ 126 |
| 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 pdfx if
- You want the pdfx feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and pdfx 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 pdfx
PDFx One file. Many documents. Still a PDF. What it is PDFx is an open, backwards compatible extension of PDF that bundles many documents into a single file, plus a minimal desktop viewer for macOS, Windows, and Linux. The files produced are fully valid PDFs: open them anywhere and every page shows in sequence. Open them in PDFx and it splits back into the original documents. Plain single PDFs work as they are. Drag and drop .pdf files, images or folders anywhere in the window. Each document renders as a horizontal strip of pages, and documents stack vertically. Reorder or remove them, then Export PDF to save…
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Frequently asked questions
Is pdfcraft or pdfx more popular?
pdfcraft has 19,105 GitHub stars and pdfx has 1,088. pdfcraft has the larger community by that measure.
Are pdfcraft and pdfx free?
Both are open source. pdfcraft is licensed under Apache-2.0 and pdfx under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pdfcraft and pdfx?
pdfcraft is written in Rust and pdfx 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 pdfx?
Choose pdfcraft if you want the larger community (19,105 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose pdfx if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.