Comparison

pdf-lib vs Stirling-PDF

On the evidence we track, Stirling-PDF leads this comparison with a composite score of 59/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

pdf-lib full profile →Stirling-PDF full profile →

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.

pdf-lib48

★Stirling-PDF59

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	pdf-lib	Stirling-PDFLeader
vioscaleAI score	48 / 100low · 44%	59 / 100medium · 67%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	commercial	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	high
Starting pricepricing.starting_price	-	$99
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	-	4
Security
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=pdf-lib&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=nixpkgs&package_name=stirling-pdf&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	2,364	0
Github starsadoption.github_stars	8,660	94,282
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	0	100
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	19	6
Historyrelease.history	20 items	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	MIT	-
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	TypeScript	TypeScript
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	-	Available worldwide · Popular in US
Content
Faqcontent.faq	4 items	4 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

pdf-lib48 / 100low · 44%

Stirling-PDF59 / 100medium · 67%

Pricing

Free tier

pdf-lib✓

Stirling-PDF✓

Model

pdf-libcommercial

Stirling-PDFfreemium

Price level

pdf-libfree

Stirling-PDFhigh

Starting price

pdf-lib–

Stirling-PDF$99

Transparent

pdf-lib✓

Stirling-PDF✓

Integrations

Count

pdf-lib–

Stirling-PDF4

Security

Vulnerabilities

pdf-libCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=pdf-lib&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Stirling-PDFCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=nixpkgs&package_name=stirling-pdf&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Adoption

Dependent repos

pdf-lib2,364

Stirling-PDF0

Github stars

pdf-lib8,660

Stirling-PDF94,282

Activity

Commits last 30d

pdf-lib0

Stirling-PDF100

Release

Cadence days

pdf-lib19

Stirling-PDF6

History

pdf-lib20 items

Stirling-PDF20 items

License

Spdx

pdf-libMIT

Stirling-PDF–

Language

Primary

pdf-libTypeScript

Stirling-PDFTypeScript

Market

Availability

pdf-lib–

Stirling-PDFAvailable worldwide · Popular in US

Content

Faq

pdf-lib4 items

Stirling-PDF4 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for pdf editors. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for PDF Editors
Capability	pdf-lib	Stirling-PDF
Capabilities
Deployment model	-	Cloud saas
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	-	Freemium

Capabilities

Deployment model

pdf-lib-

Stirling-PDFCloud saas

Base text and image editing within PDF

pdf-lib✓

Stirling-PDF✓

Page merging extraction and splitting

pdf-lib✓

Stirling-PDF✓

OCR optical character recognition scanning

pdf-lib✗

Stirling-PDF✓

Permanent blackout redaction engine

pdf-lib-

Stirling-PDF✓

Password protection and encryption

pdf-lib-

Stirling-PDF-

Interactive form field creation

pdf-lib✓

Stirling-PDF✓

Digital signature certification enforcement

pdf-lib-

Stirling-PDF✓

Microsoft office docx xlsx conversion

pdf-lib-

Stirling-PDF✓

File size compression engine

pdf-lib-

Stirling-PDF✓

SOC2 type ii

pdf-lib-

Stirling-PDF-

ISO 27001

pdf-lib-

Stirling-PDF-

Pricing model

pdf-lib-

Stirling-PDFFreemium

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

pdf-lib

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.

Independently observed

Stirling-PDF

Leader

A comprehensive PDF platform offering 60+ tools for editing, signing, redacting, and converting documents. Available as desktop applications, a web interface, or self-hosted server with API access.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

pdf-lib

FreeFree tier

Free

as of 2026-08-19verify ↗

Stirling-PDF

Leader

from $99/moHybridFree tier

Free for individuals. Team plan from $99/month for 100 users. Enterprise with custom pricing.

FreeFree
- 60+ PDF tools
- Web, desktop, and self-hosted options
- Private and open-source
- 1,000 monthly credits for automation
Team$99/month for 100 users
- Everything in Free
- Single sign-on (SSO)
- Team workspace and invites
- Add capacity in blocks of 100 users
- One bill instead of per-seat licenses
- +1 more
EnterpriseContact sales
- Everything in Team
- Air-gapped and self-hosted deployment
- SCIM provisioning
- Data residency and audit logs
- Uptime SLAs
- +1 more

as of 2026-10-15verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	pdf-lib	Stirling-PDF
WebPlatforms	✓	✓
macOSPlatforms	✗	✓
WindowsPlatforms	✗	✓
LinuxPlatforms	✗	✓
CLIPlatforms	✗	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	-	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	-	✓
Air-gappedDeployment	-	✓

Platforms

Web

pdf-lib✓

Stirling-PDF✓

macOS

pdf-lib✗

Stirling-PDF✓

Windows

pdf-lib✗

Stirling-PDF✓

Linux

pdf-lib✗

Stirling-PDF✓

CLI

pdf-lib✗

Stirling-PDF✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

pdf-lib–

Stirling-PDF✓

Self-hosted

pdf-lib–

Stirling-PDF✓

Air-gapped

pdf-lib–

Stirling-PDF✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

pdf-lib

Not documented yet.

Stirling-PDF

Leader

4 total

SharePoint
S3
FTP
OAuth

Independently observed

Still deciding?

pdf-lib or Stirling-PDF: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.