Immich
Focus: photo backup, photo library and github. Shares self-hosted and open source with Stirling PDF. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.8 (Stirling PDF: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb, iOS
4.8Visit
Web App
Stirling PDF
An open-source PDF toolkit with 60+ tools you can host yourself.
Rating
4.6 / 5
Pricing
Freemium
Difficulty
Intermediate
Works on
Web, Windows, macOS
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is Stirling PDF?
Stirling PDF is an open-source PDF toolkit with more than 60 tools for editing, merging, splitting, converting, compressing, OCR, redaction and signing. It runs on your own machine or server, so files stay with you, and it is free for individual use; paid plans add enterprise features such as pipelines, policies and connectors.
Pros: what Stirling PDF does well
- 60+ PDF tools in one place
- Self-hostable, so files never leave your machine
- Free for individual use
Cons: where it falls short
- Self-hosting takes some setup
- Enterprise features are paid
Who Stirling PDF is for
People and teams who want a private, all-in-one PDF toolkit.
Who can skip it
People who only open and read PDFs.
Compare Stirling PDF
See how Stirling PDF stacks up, side by side, plus the lists it made.
Stirling PDF alternatives
Not sold on Stirling PDF? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
BentoPDF
Focus: merge pdf, privacy and github. Shares pdf tools and open source with Stirling PDF. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Rated 4.7 (Stirling PDF: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.7Visit
Paperless-ngx
Focus: documents, ocr and github. Shares self-hosted and open source with Stirling PDF. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Rated 4.7 (Stirling PDF: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb, Linux
4.7Visit
Vaultwarden
Focus: password manager, bitwarden and security. Shares self-hosted and open source with Stirling PDF. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Rated 4.7 (Stirling PDF: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.7Visit
Yazi
Focus: file manager, terminal ui and developer tool. Shares open source with Stirling PDF. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Stirling PDF: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
Dashy
Focus: dashboard, start page and github. Shares self-hosted and open source with Stirling PDF. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Same 4.6 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.6Visit
Free alternatives to Stirling PDF
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
Files
Focus: file manager, file explorer alternative and tabs. Shares open source with Stirling PDF. A Windows app, not a web app. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Same 4.6 rating.
Windows AppFreeWindows
4.6Visit
OmniTools
Focus: online tools, file conversion and github. Shares self-hosted and open source with Stirling PDF. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Same 4.6 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.6Visit
PhotoPrism
Focus: photo library, face recognition and backup. Shares self-hosted and open source with Stirling PDF. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Same 4.6 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb
4.6Visit
superfile
Focus: file manager, terminal ui and developer tool. Shares open source with Stirling PDF. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Adds Offline. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
ConvertX
Focus: file converter, documents and github. Shares self-hosted and open source with Stirling PDF. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Rated 4.5 (Stirling PDF: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb, Linux
4.5Visit
Dozzle
Focus: docker, logs and monitoring. Shares self-hosted and open source with Stirling PDF. Free (Stirling PDF: Freemium). Rated 4.5 (Stirling PDF: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.5Visit
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