Top pick · highest health
Stirling-PDF
Local hosted web application that allows you to perform various operations on PDF files, such as merging, splitting, file conversions and OCR.
DockerJava
Document Management
Open source alternatives to Adobe Acrobat
We track 5 open-source Adobe Acrobat alternatives, of which 4 currently score 70 or above on Repoly's GitHub health scale and 5 ship a Docker image. Stirling-PDF leads on health at 100/100 with 779 commits in the last 90 days; across all 5 projects you are choosing between AGPL-3.0, Apache-2.0, GPL-3.0 and 1 other licences.
updated Oct 2026 5 alternatives best health 100 ★ 147k combined 1,193 commits / 90d 5 with Docker
Top picks to replace Adobe Acrobat
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Healthiest
Health 100/100: 779 commits in 90 days, latest release v3.2.2, Docker image available.
Showing 5 of 5 tools
All 5 Adobe Acrobat alternatives, ranked by health
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ConvertX
Online file converter which supports over a thousand different formats.
Docker -
BentoPDF
Powerful, privacy-first, client-side PDF toolkit that allows you to manipulate, edit, merge, and process PDF files directly in your browser.
DockerNodejs -
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.
Docker -
Docspell
Auto-tagging document organizer and archive.
DockerScalaJava
Adobe Acrobat alternatives compared
Stirling-PDF edges ConvertX 100 to 97, and most of the difference is stars: 95k stars against 19k stars.
The most recent release is ConvertX v0.20.0, published 2 days ago. None of the measured options scores under 40. By stack, Java (2), Nodejs (1) and Scala (1) are the most common. Stirling-PDF and Gotenberg are permissively licensed; ConvertX, BentoPDF and Docspell are copyleft.
| Tool | Health | Stars | Licence | Last commit | Docker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stirling-PDF Steady at 100 since 11 Sep | 100 | 95k | Apache-2.0 | today | Yes |
| ConvertX Up 12 points since 11 Sep | 97 | 19k | AGPL-3.0 | 2 days ago | Yes |
| BentoPDF Steady at 97 since 11 Sep | 97 | 16k | AGPL-3.0 | today | Yes |
| Gotenberg Up 1 point since 11 Sep | 97 | 13k | MIT | today | Yes |
| Docspell Down 1 point since 11 Sep, no release for 19 months | 67 | 2.3k | GPL-3.0 | 3 days ago | Yes |
Adobe Acrobat alternatives: common questions
What is the most maintained open source alternative to Adobe Acrobat?
Stirling-PDF scores highest at 100/100, with 779 commits in the last 90 days, 95k stars on GitHub and its latest release (v3.2.2) published 6 days ago. It is also the most active by raw commit count.
Which Adobe Acrobat alternatives use a permissive licence?
2 of 5 are permissively licensed (MIT, Apache, BSD or similar): Stirling-PDF (Apache-2.0), Gotenberg (MIT). 3 use copyleft licences such as GPL or AGPL, which require you to publish changes if you distribute a modified version.
Which Adobe Acrobat alternatives run in Docker?
5 of 5 publish a Docker image or Compose file: Stirling-PDF, ConvertX, BentoPDF, Gotenberg, Docspell. Docker support contributes 10 of the 100 available health points, because it is the clearest signal that self-hosting is a supported path rather than an afterthought.
Is Stirling-PDF or ConvertX the better Adobe Acrobat alternative?
On measured health Stirling-PDF leads, 100 to 97. Stirling-PDF has 779 commits in 90 days, 95k stars and v3.2.2 from 6 days ago; ConvertX has 78 commits in 90 days, 19k stars and v0.20.0 from 2 days ago. Stirling-PDF is ahead or level on every term Repoly measures.
Are the Adobe Acrobat alternatives still maintained?
4 of the 5 measured options score 70 or above. Every measured option had commits in the last 90 days. None scores under 40.
What languages are the Adobe Acrobat alternatives written in?
Java: Stirling-PDF and Docspell. Nodejs: BentoPDF. Scala: Docspell. The stack matters if you plan to extend or patch the tool yourself.
