Apache PDFBox

Free
Proprietary
Linux
Mac
Windows
Online

Apache PDFBox Alternatives

11
Options
Considered
2022-01-11
Last
Updated

#1 PDFium

Free
Open Source
Linux
Mac
Windows
Online
Github

PDFium is a cross-platform open-source C++ library that provides developers the means to read and parse pdf documents. This library is created from the source code of MuPDF project, which is in turn based on Xpdf. The idea of this library was to let developers leverage a high-performance standards-compliant PDF open-source software library to view, search, print PDF documents, and fill the form in PDF documents.

It intends to be an open-source alternative to Adobe’s proprietary Acrobat Reader software. Although it will not have all the same features as Adobe Reader, it will offer similar capabilities with a cleaner codebase that is easier to maintain and improve. It is used in the Chromium browser to render PDF documents. Another function of this platform is that it lets developers leverage a high-performance PDF library to view, search, print, and fill the form in PDF documents, which you can use to view, search, and print PDF documents.

#2 PDFSwitch

Free
Proprietary
Linux
Mac
Windows
Online

PDFSwitch is one of the reliable software with modern API designed for developers of all skill levels that allows them easily and reliably convert products from HTML to PDF; in a few easy steps. It enables thousands of developers to implement a high-quality, easy-to-implement HTML to PDF conversion API into their websites and mobile applications. PDFSwitch also provides businesses with a valuable new tool to get closer to their customers.

One of the most reliable indicators of quality is knowing that other people have bought the same product from the same seller. By ensuring that products are easily converted and available in PDF format, that makes it easier than ever for shoppers to find high-quality products and for sellers to build trust and gain repeat sales. The PHP library can convert a document into a PDF of any size, supporting up to 2560 pages for an individual document; you can specify the number of pages you want at any time during runtime.

#3 Document Cyborg

Paid
Proprietary
Online

Document Cyborg is a web service that allows you to save a web page as a document. The main goal of this platform is to store content and make it searchable. You can also share your saved pages with social networks. It is a platform that easily saves a web page as a document like PDF, WORD, EPUB, ODT, RTF, or Text. You can also share the document on Twitter or Facebook to get feedback from your friends or content creators. It’s too much work, and you are forced to download the original website and use its editor to create the document.

You have to copy and paste all information from the web page; it’s time-consuming and boring. The Document Cyborg Service Web Application simply allows you to save web pages as documents via the browser at any time and anywhere. Moreover, you can change its layout to fit your need for the document you intend to save. With this service, you can create a new copy of the web page you want to save every time you’ll open it.

#4 Pdfcrowd

Paid
Proprietary
SaaS

Pdfcrowd is an online conversion service that helps you convert your MS Word or PDF documents to high-quality and professional format e-books. Just upload your PDF files and get a handcrafted eBook in just a couple of hours. It works with all popular e-book formats and has a team of professionals who specialize in creating stunning e-books.

The company provides online conversion services for documents to be used on cell phones, tablets, and desktops. It uses its proprietary technology to convert documents into mobile-friendly formats. Once the document is converted, it can be viewed on all mobile devices and computers.

#5 Aspose.PDF for Java

Paid
Proprietary
Linux
Windows
Online

Aspose.PDF for Java is one of the lightweight platforms that provides an easy way to create PDF content from any Java application and can also be used for manipulating PDF documents. It is a lightweight and high-performance Java component built to allow developers to create PDF documents, whether simple or complex. The library can be used as a Java PDF generator, allowing developers to generate PDF content using Java code via a “Create PDF” button on their applications. One example of the capabilities of Aspose.PDF is the ability to take printouts of content and save them as PDF files so that they can be archived digitally.

Another example is creating forms and saving them as a PDF file for digital signatures, which is also supported. The component was designed to be integrated into other applications through the use of an API or Java wrappers, giving applications such as word processors and spreadsheets the ability to generate PDFs within their respective environments. In addition, Aspose.PDF allows developers to create forms fields, labels, and buttons, which lead to an interactive form within a PDF document using Adobe Reader with just a few lines of code, making it ideal for generating dynamic invoices certificates or any other form-based document you need. Paid Window Linux

#6 PDF-Lib

Free
Open Source
Self-Hosted
Javascript
Github

PDF-Lib is one of the powerful software that is specially designed for creating and editing PDFs with Node. This comes in useful when you have many PDFs to transform and require an almost automatic procedure. The library is pure JS with no external dependencies, which means that you can use it in your browser, in Electron, and of course, on the server. And no matter if you use it on the frontend or backend, all you need to do is require ‘pdf-lib.’

Once the document has been built, it includes handy tools for reporting on how the document has been generated and how many pages were created, including how much time was spent generating specific content within the PDF. The interesting functions of this platform include you can add as many pages as you want, adding text to the PDF, adding images & watermarks to the PDF, executing java scripts in the document, and you can specify which pages you want to export in all the above features. It uses Cairo to render the pages and Node’s built-in fs module to create the document structure.

#7 OpenPDF

Free
Open Source
Linux
Mac
Windows
Github
Javascript
Online

OpenPDF is one of the classical libraries that uses standard Java language features and does not require external tools or dependencies, making it a great way to introduce the PDF format and its capabilities in your application. The main function of this platform includes you can create a PDF document from scratch by writing content to an OutputStream or Writer object, edit existing PDF files, save the result of its modifications to a file, including the original file if the modification was done using the OutputStream or Writer object.

OpenPDF is a Java library for creating and editing PDF files. A simple API is provided that allows applications to generate PDF documents, manipulate existing content and perform transformations. It uses the iText library to generate PDF files, which is fast and feature-rich but not free for commercial use. Other function of this platform includes it provides all the tools developers need to build and generate PDF files, as well as to allow developers to manipulate existing PDF documents.

#8 SelectPdf

Paid
Open Source
SaaS
Github

SelectPdf is an open-source project that provides an API and a PoC application to manipulate PDF documents. It allows to merge, split, crop, and add annotations to PDF documents. The library uses the iTextSharp as an OCR engine and the Mono PDF Toolkit for PDF manipulation. It is an easy-to-integrate open source REST API that enables you to perform a range of powerful and complex operations on PDF files.

From selecting, extracting, and manipulating text & images to modifying PDF attributes, creating a set of digital signatures, adding watermarks & more. It supports writing PDF documents from scratch or parsing existing documents. The library is light on dependencies and can be used for server-side as well as for client-side code.

#9 html2pdf

Free
Proprietary
Self-Hosted
PHP

html2pdf is one of the effects that convert any webpage or element into a printable PDF entirely client-side using html2canvas and jsPDF. With this platform, you can send a URL to the script and have it download the page you want, convert it to the correct format, and save the resulting file.

The conversion process is handled entirely by jsPDF, so there is nothing more your server has to do other than send a file to download and delete when done; it also means you can convert any document using a regular browser just by pasting a link. This makes it easy to create an e-book from any website or blog. You can also use it for forms, as long as you are able to control the markup of the form. When you have a large amount of information like, e.g., pricing, inventory on your website, you may want to deliver it as a printable PDF to your customers.

#10 ZetPDF

Free
Proprietary
Windows
.NET Framework
Online

ZetPDF is a lightweight class library that can be easily integrated into existing .NET applications. It is an easy-to-use .NET SDK for adding PDF render and print support in .NET applications. It was created to enable working with PDF documents in the same way as other document types such as Word or Excel.

It enables you to generate PDF documents from within .NET applications. This component utilizes the free ZetCode TeXtoPDF converter to convert TeX documents to PDF. It is distributed under the MIT license and supports both client-side and server-side operations. It is built on the .NET Framework, and it allows parsing, editing, creating, and modifying PDFs, as well as rendering to different destinations for best results.

#11 HTML PDF API

Paid
Proprietary
Online

HTML PDF API is the easiest way to add support for various formats, including the ability to export any document into PDF into your web or mobile application. This API does not require any coding to get started; it’s completely based on HTML tags and a simple configuration file that allows you to create an interactive document viewer that allows end-users to preview documents in HTML and even save them as PDF.

Once you have it up and running, you can translate HTML PDF API functions into your languages or integrate them with other platforms. It does not have any PHP, JavaScript, or cURL dependencies. Just include a simple HTML code, and you are ready to go. Users will be able to export their content like PDF and print it without leaving your app. Integrating HTML PDF API is a matter of minutes; you can be up and running in minutes, and your client will benefit from the power of exporting in seconds.