# Portkey vs Stirling-PDF

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Portkey | Stirling-PDF |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 49/100 | 87/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #18 of 44 in Dashboard | #1 of 46 in Document Management |
| GitHub stars | 183 | 95 299 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +0 | +2 337 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 4 | 25 ✓ |
| Latest release | v4.0.0 · 9 Aug 2026 | v3.2.2 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Stirling-PDF scores 87/100 against 49/100 for Portkey, so it is the safer default.

Stirling-PDF ships more often: 25 stable releases in the past year, against 4 for Portkey.

If you want the quickest setup, Portkey is easier to run; Stirling-PDF needs more configuration.

Stirling-PDF is growing faster right now (+2 337 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Portkey](https://selfhost.directory/project/portkey) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/portkey.md)
- [Stirling-PDF](https://selfhost.directory/project/stirling-pdf) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/stirling-pdf.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/portkey-vs-stirling-pdf