6 self-hosted options
Open-source alternatives to Adobe Acrobat
The best open-source alternatives to Adobe Acrobat are Stirling-PDF, BentoPDF and Docuseal.
About Adobe Acrobat: Adobe's PDF software for viewing, editing, converting, signing and organizing PDF files.
Every option below is free to self-host and ranked by GitHub stars, so you can move off Adobe Acrobat without giving up the features you rely on.
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Stirling-PDF
Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF
Local hosted web application that allows you to perform various operations on PDF files, such as merging, splitting, file conversions and OCR.
Document ManagementTypeScriptDocker - Rank 2:
BentoPDF
alam00000/bentopdf
Powerful, privacy-first, client-side PDF toolkit that allows you to manipulate, edit, merge, and process PDF files directly in your browser.
Document ManagementJavaScriptDocker - Rank 3:
Docuseal
docusealco/docuseal
Create, fill, and sign digital documents (alternative to DocuSign).
Document ManagementRubyDocker
Why switch
Why teams move off Adobe Acrobat
Self-hosting is not only about saving money. These are the reasons people make the switch.
Own your data
Your data lives on a server you control, not on Adobe Acrobat's infrastructure. No surprise policy changes and no lock-in.
No per-seat pricing
Open-source alternatives to Adobe Acrobat are free to run for as many users as your server can handle. A small VPS often costs less than a single subscription.
Customize and extend
Read the code, add plugins, connect it to your own tools and automate it through open APIs. When you need a feature, you can build it or fund it.
Full ranking
All 6 Adobe Acrobat alternatives
Ranked by GitHub stars. Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.
- 1
Stirling-PDF
Local hosted web application that allows you to perform various operations on PDF files, such as merging, splitting, file conversions and OCR.
Document ManagementDocker - 2
BentoPDF
Powerful, privacy-first, client-side PDF toolkit that allows you to manipulate, edit, merge, and process PDF files directly in your browser.
Document ManagementDocker - 3
Docuseal
Create, fill, and sign digital documents (alternative to DocuSign).
Document ManagementDocker - 4
Documenso
Digital document signing platform (alternative to DocuSign).
Document ManagementDocker - 5
Signature PDF
Sign and manipulate PDFs with collaboration, organization, compression and metadata editing.
Document ManagementDocker - 6
Gotenberg
Developer-friendly API to interact with powerful tools like Chromium and LibreOffice for converting numerous document formats (HTML, Markdown, Word, Excel, etc.) into PDF files, and more.
Document ManagementDocker
What is the best open-source alternative to Adobe Acrobat?
Stirling-PDF is the most popular open-source alternative to Adobe Acrobat, with 93,634 GitHub stars. BentoPDF and Docuseal are also strong choices. Compare features, license and recent activity to find the best fit for your team.
Is there a free alternative to Adobe Acrobat?
Yes. All 6 apps on this page are open source and free to self-host, so you can run a Adobe Acrobat replacement without per-user fees. You only pay for the server, and a small VPS is usually enough for personal use or a small team.
Can I self-host an alternative to Adobe Acrobat?
Yes. Stirling-PDF, BentoPDF and Docuseal ship a Docker image, so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose in a few minutes. Your data then stays on hardware you control.
How do I migrate from Adobe Acrobat?
Start by exporting your data from Adobe Acrobat, then check the import options of the app you pick, since many projects ship importers for popular formats. Run both side by side for a week before you switch so nothing is lost.