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Stirling-PDF alternative without self-hosting
Stirling-PDF is an excellent open-source, self-hosted PDF toolkit. If you can run Docker and keep it updated, it is a strong privacy choice.
mypdf is for people who want the same “nothing leaves my machine” idea without running a server: tools execute in the browser tab you already have open.
Side by side
| Feature | mypdf | Stirling-PDF |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | No server of yours — work runs in the browser | You host it (Docker / VM) |
| Maintenance | None for you | Updates, TLS, auth, backups are yours |
| Offline after first load | Yes with installable web app / cache | Yes on your LAN if the instance is up |
| Open source | Proprietary product; client-side libraries are third-party OSS | Fully open-source application |
Where Stirling-PDF is better
- Full control of the stack for a team or homelab.
- A huge tool list under one self-hosted UI you can lock behind your own auth.
- No dependence on a third-party website being online (once your instance is running).
Where mypdf is different
- Zero ops: open the site and work.
- No account and no upload of PDF bytes to our servers.
- Curated privacy workflows (leak check, Confidential Send) aimed at sharing safely.
Which to use
Pick Stirling-PDF if you want (or already run) a self-hosted stack you control. Pick mypdf if you want privacy without ops.
Try it yourself
- Merge PDFsCombine multiple PDFs into one free — no upload. Drag to reorder before merging.
- Compress PDFShrink PDFs locally — keep selectable text by default, or max-shrink with a searchable overlay.
- OCR PDFMake scanned pages searchable with local browser OCR (Tesseract). English, Hindi, Spanish, German, or French — language packs download on first use.
- RedactDraw black boxes over sensitive regions. Matched pages are rasterized so covered text is destroyed.
- Deep CleanForensic-lite scrub — strip metadata, drop embedded files, clear OpenAction/JS markers, flatten forms. Safe-to-email prep, not NSA-grade wipe.
- Confidential SendPrivate prep in one pass — scan/redact PII, strip metadata, watermark, encrypt — or Email Ready. Batch many PDFs into a zip.
Frequently asked questions
Is mypdf open source like Stirling-PDF?
No. mypdf.space is a product. Processing still happens in your browser using libraries such as pdf-lib and PDF.js.Should I self-host instead?
If you already run Docker and want maximum control, Stirling-PDF is a great fit. If you do not want to maintain a server, use mypdf.Does mypdf send my PDF anywhere?
No. Tools process the file in the browser. Analytics may record page views, not file contents.
Stirling-PDF is a trademark of its owner and is not affiliated with mypdf. This comparison describes how the products differ in approach; capabilities and pricing on their side change over time, so check their site for current details. Read how we handle your files on the privacy page.