head to head · open source
Steel vs pdf_oxide
Steel has 7,916 GitHub stars, 1,004 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. pdf_oxide has 1,163 stars, 149 forks, 322 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Steel leads on adoption by 581% (7,916 vs 1,163 stars). Steel is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; pdf_oxide is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Steel has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, pdf_oxide 13%. Steel was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (llm), 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
| Steel | pdf_oxide | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.9K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.0K | ⑂ 149 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Steel if
- You weight community size — 7.9K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick pdf_oxide if
- You want the pdf_oxide feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and pdf_oxide fits your workflow better
About Steel
Steel The open source browser API for AI agents & apps. The best way to build live web agents and browser automation tools. Get Started · Documentation · Website · Cookbook ✨ Highlights Steel.dev is an open source browser API that makes it easy to build AI apps and agents that interact with the web. Instead of building automation infrastructure from scratch, you can focus on your AI application while Steel handles the complexity. Under the hood, it manages sessions, pages, and browser processes, allowing you to perform complex browsing tasks programmatically without any of the headaches: Full Browser Control…
read the full Steel overview →
About pdf_oxide
PDFOxide The Fastest PDF Toolkit for 20 Languages — Python, Rust, Go, JS/TS, C , Java, Kotlin, Swift, C++ & more, plus CLI & AI New in v0.3.69 — eleven new language bindings. PDFOxide now ships idiomatic bindings for C++, Swift, Kotlin, Dart, R, Julia, Zig, Scala, Clojure, Objective C, and Elixir , each built over the stable C ABI with its own CI workflow, api coverage tests, and runnable examples. That brings the toolkit to 20 languages (Rust core + 19 bindings). Want another language? Open an issue and tell us. The fastest PDF library for text extraction, image extraction, and markdown conversion. A Rust core…
read the full pdf_oxide overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Steel or pdf_oxide more popular?
Steel has 7,916 GitHub stars and pdf_oxide has 1,163. Steel has the larger community by that measure.
Are Steel and pdf_oxide free?
Both are open source. Steel is licensed under Apache-2.0 and pdf_oxide under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Steel and pdf_oxide?
Steel is written in TypeScript and pdf_oxide in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Steel or pdf_oxide?
Choose Steel if you want the larger community (7,916 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose pdf_oxide if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.