“The practical privacy upgrade for people who currently upload sensitive PDFs to random websites.”
At a glance
| Replaces | Adobe Acrobat, Smallpdf |
|---|---|
| Open-source license | MIT |
| Privacy | Documents can be processed on your own machine or server. |
| Lightweight signal | One browser interface replaces many single-purpose online PDF sites. |
| Community health | Fast-growing, highly active project |
| Platforms | Docker, Self-hosted, Desktop |
Documents can be processed on your own machine or server.
One browser interface replaces many single-purpose online PDF sites.
Fast-growing, highly active project. Verify current releases and open issues in the source repository before critical deployment.
Should you switch to Stirling PDF?
The practical privacy upgrade for people who currently upload sensitive PDFs to random websites. A successful migration starts with a small real project, not a feature checklist. Test the files, integrations, shortcuts, and collaboration steps you use every week before removing the existing tool.
Open source gives you inspectable code and a path away from vendor lock-in, but it does not eliminate tradeoffs. Support may be community-led, some commercial file formats may be imperfect, and self-hosted options require security updates and backups. Use the official website and source repository above to confirm current compatibility.