# pdf-lib vs PDFelement

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** pdf-lib

| Attribute | pdf-lib | PDFelement |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 47.6 (44% (low)) | 38.1 (55% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 0 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 2,364 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 8,660 | - |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A pure JavaScript PDF manipulation toolkit that runs across any JavaScript environment including web browsers, Node.js, Deno, and React Native. It enables creating new PDFs, editing existing documents, filling forms with various field types, embedding fonts, and merging or splitting pages. It is indexed under PDF Editors.","source":"https://pdf-lib.js.org/","question":"What is pdf-lib?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"pdf-lib offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://pdf-lib.js.org/","question":"Is pdf-lib free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to pdf-lib. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://pdf-lib.js.org/","question":"What platforms does pdf-lib support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. pdf-lib is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/hopding/pdf-lib","question":"Is pdf-lib open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"A desktop application for editing PDF documents, including text and image modifications, creating fillable forms, recognizing text in scanned pages, reorganizing and combining pages, converting between formats, reducing file sizes, and removing sensitive information. It is indexed under PDF Editors.","source":"https://pdf.wondershare.com/","question":"What is PDFelement?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"PDFelement is a paid product; published pricing starts at $129.99. It is sold across 2 plans (PDFelement for Individuals and PDFelement for Team). There is no free tier. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://pdf.wondershare.com/business/acrobat-reader-enterprise-pricing.html","question":"How much does PDFelement cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"PDFelement supports Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://pdf.wondershare.com/","question":"What platforms does PDFelement support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for PDFelement, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://pdf.wondershare.com/business/acrobat-reader-enterprise-pricing.html","question":"Can PDFelement be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed ISO 27001 for PDFelement. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as PDFelement not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://pdf.wondershare.com/","question":"What security certifications does PDFelement have?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"PDFelement is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://pdf.wondershare.com/business/acrobat-reader-enterprise-pricing.html","question":"Where is PDFelement available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | - | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A programming library that enables developers to create, edit, and manipulate PDF files with support for embedded fonts, form field creation, page embedding, and text drawing. | A full-featured PDF editor that enables text and image editing, interactive form creation with fillable fields, page merging and splitting, file conversion, and intelligent redaction of sensitive data. It includes optical character recognition for scanned documents and is available across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. |
| features.capabilities | `{"interactive_form_field_creation":true,"page_merging_extraction_and_splitting":true,"base_text_and_image_editing_within_pdf":true,"ocr_optical_character_recognition_scanning":false}` | `{"iso_27001":true,"pricing_model":"one_time_purchase","deployment_model":"native_desktop","file_size_compression_engine":true,"interactive_form_field_creation":true,"password_protection_and_encryption":true,"permanent_blackout_redaction_engine":true,"microsoft_office_docx_xlsx_conversion":true,"page_merging_extraction_and_splitting":true,"base_text_and_image_editing_within_pdf":true,"ocr_optical_character_recognition_scanning":true,"digital_signature_certification_enforcement":true}` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | - |
| license.spdx | MIT | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"ios":true,"mac":true,"android":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"free","summary":"Free","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://pdf-lib.js.org/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-19T16:04:48.894Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"PDFelement for Individuals","summary":"$129.99 perpetual (12% discount from $159)","features":["Edit text and images","Annotate documents","Merge and split pages","OCR scanning","Convert to and from PDF","Compress file size","Create fillable forms","Digital signatures","Protect PDFs"],"components":[{"kind":"one_time","amount":129.99,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Edit, print, convert, eSign, and protect PDFs on Windows PC or Mac","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"PDFelement for Team","summary":"$139/user/month with custom services available (contact for details)","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":139,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Flexible team licensing with provisioning, tracking, and management across groups","contactSales":true}],"summary":"From $129.99 one-time for individuals or $139/user/month for teams. Free trial available.","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://pdf.wondershare.com/business/acrobat-reader-enterprise-pricing.html","retrievedAt":"2026-08-25T15:45:56.513Z","startingPrice":{"amount":129.99,"currency":"USD"}}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | no |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | high |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":129.99,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.cadence_days | 19 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.17.1","date":"2021-11-06T22:31:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.17.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.17.0","date":"2021-10-16T21:23:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.16.0","date":"2021-01-27T01:11:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.15.0","date":"2021-01-09T23:04:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.14.1","date":"2020-12-30T00:07:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.14.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.14.0","date":"2020-12-21T17:46:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.14.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.13.0","date":"2020-12-06T20:09:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.13.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.12.0","date":"2020-11-15T15:49:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.11.2","date":"2020-10-09T22:10:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.11.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.11.1","date":"2020-09-15T23:54:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.11.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.11.0","date":"2020-09-13T20:29:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.11.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.10.0","date":"2020-08-08T16:26:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.9.0","date":"2020-06-26T23:26:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.8.0","date":"2020-06-20T18:26:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.7.0","date":"2020-05-30T16:20:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.6.1","date":"2020-05-25T15:57:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.6.0","date":"2020-05-16T15:55:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.5.0","date":"2020-04-26T20:26:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.4.1","date":"2020-03-07T16:59:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Hopding/pdf-lib/releases/tag/v1.4.0","date":"2020-02-29T16:39:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.0"}]` | - |
| security.certifications | - | `[{"name":"ISO 27001","level":"Information Security Management","status":"active"}]` |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=pdf-lib&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (PDF Editors)

| Capability | pdf-lib | PDFelement |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Deployment model | - | Native desktop |
| Base text and image editing within PDF | ✓ | ✓ |
| Page merging extraction and splitting | ✓ | ✓ |
| OCR optical character recognition scanning | ✗ | ✓ |
| Permanent blackout redaction engine | - | ✓ |
| Password protection and encryption | - | ✓ |
| Interactive form field creation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Digital signature certification enforcement | - | ✓ |
| Microsoft office docx xlsx conversion | - | ✓ |
| File size compression engine | - | ✓ |
| SOC2 type ii | - | - |
| ISO 27001 | - | ✓ |
| Pricing model | - | One time purchase |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:00:06.631Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*