# Stirling PDF

PDF tools you host. Stirling PDF's community code is MIT — Adobe Acrobat without the seat. Skip proprietary/saas directories if you want OSS-only.

**Replaces:** Adobe Acrobat

**Tier:** Easy

## Problem

Adobe Acrobat is a PDF editor subscription. You wanted merge, split, OCR, and convert on a box you run. Stirling PDF (Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF) licenses community code as MIT; LICENSE also carves out proprietary, saas, engine, and related directories. This page is the MIT self-host image, not Acrobat's every legal-certify or Creative Cloud library. Papermark is a tracked share link — /replace/docsend — not an editor.

## Stack

- [Stirling PDF](https://www.stirling.com) — MIT-community PDF toolbox you self-host (skip proprietary/saas dirs)

## Estimated SaaS cost saved

| You stop paying | Typical / year | Self-host instead |
|---|---:|---|
| Adobe Acrobat (one seat) | $1,200 | Stirling PDF |

**About $1,200 / year** on a small team, before you count lock-in.

## Deploy on Railway

Placeholder: Stirling PDF official image plus a volume if you persist files. Bind HTTP to 0.0.0.0:$PORT. Skip proprietary/saas dirs if you want OSS-only. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway.

[Start on Railway](https://c17.io/go/railway/stirling-pdf?from=%2Fstacks%2Fstirling-pdf.md)

[Papermark if this is a tracked share link, not a PDF editor](https://c17.io/stacks/papermark-docs)

## AGENT_PROMPT

```
Replace Adobe Acrobat with Stirling PDF (https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF).

- Official community image. Bind HTTP. Merge or split one PDF you actually use. Persist a volume only if you keep files on the server.
- Do not deploy proprietary/saas/engine directories and call that the OSS path. Write AGENT_PROMPT.md.
```

## FAQ

### Is Stirling PDF fully MIT?

Community code is MIT as of the LICENSE checked 18 Oct 2026. LICENSE also lists proprietary, saas, engine, and related directories under other licenses. This page is the MIT self-host path.

### Why not Papermark?

Papermark is a tracked link (/replace/docsend). Acrobat is edit/merge/OCR. Stirling PDF is that job.

Source: https://c17.io/stacks/stirling-pdf