DocusealvsStirling-PDF
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Docuseal | Stirling-PDF | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 74/100 | 87/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 12 in Document Processing | #1 of 47 in Document Management |
| GitHub stars | 19 045 | 96 441 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +368 | +2 618 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 32 | 26 |
| Latest release | 3.3.6 · 9 Nov 2026 | v3.3.0 · 5 Nov 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Ruby | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Stirling-PDF scores 87/100 against 74/100 for Docuseal, so it is the safer default.
Docuseal ships more often: 32 stable releases in the past year, against 26 for Stirling-PDF.
If you want the quickest setup, Docuseal is easier to run; Stirling-PDF needs more configuration.
Stirling-PDF is growing faster right now (+2 618 stars in 30 days).
Key differences
- License: Docuseal is AGPL-3.0, Stirling-PDF is MIT.
- Language: Docuseal is written mainly in Ruby, Stirling-PDF in Typescript.
- Platforms only Docuseal lists: DigitalOcean, Heroku, Railway, Render.
- Platforms only Stirling-PDF lists: CasaOS, Kubernetes, Linux, Podman and 3 more.
- Features only Docuseal lists: Bulk send, Cloud storage backends, Digital document signing, Email notifications and 7 more.
- Features only Stirling-PDF lists: AI-assisted PDF processing, Audit Logging, Automation pipelines, Compression and 10 more.
- Both offer: REST API.
Docuseal details →Stirling-PDF details →
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