Compare / Stirling PDF vs Paperless-ngx
Stirling PDF vs Paperless-ngx
Pick Stirling PDF if you want the published Acrobat / Smallpdf stack (an MIT-community toolbox; skip proprietary/saas directories). Pick Paperless-ngx if you want that GPL-3.0 archive rather than an editor.
Facts checked 26 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
Stirling PDF in the catalog Paperless-ngx in the catalog Start on Railway
How they compare
| Stirling PDF | Paperless-ngx | |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT License for community code (catalog); LICENSE carves out proprietary/saas dirs source | GNU General Public License v3.0 (catalog) source |
| Language | TypeScript (catalog) | Python (catalog) |
| GitHub activity | 94,432 stars in the catalog source | 46,640 stars in the catalog source |
| Self-host | Published as /stacks/stirling-pdf. Merge, split, OCR, convert. | Scan, index, and archive. Official docs at docs.paperless-ngx.com. |
| Best for | The published Acrobat / Smallpdf replacement. | An archive if the job is keep, not edit. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
Stirling PDF is the published lander — /stacks/stirling-pdf. Stirling PDF is Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF (MIT community; 94,432 stars in the catalog). Paperless-ngx is paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx (GPL-3.0; 46,640 stars in the catalog). Gotenberg is the convert API, not this pair. Neither has a one-click c17 Railway template.
FAQ
- Acrobat or Smallpdf?
- Same published toolbox — /replace/acrobat and /replace/smallpdf.
- Where is Gotenberg?
- A convert-to-PDF API — /best/pdf-tools. Not this pair.
- Are these free?
- Stirling community is MIT if you skip proprietary/saas dirs. Paperless-ngx is GPL-3.0. You pay hosting.
- How do I deploy Stirling PDF?
- Open /stacks/stirling-pdf. Bind HTTP. Merge or split one PDF.
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