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Cpdf vs Ghostscript: catalog facts
Cpdf	Ghostscript
Freemium Free for non-commercial use. Commercial use requires a paid licence.	Free Free and open source under the AGPL. Commercial licensing is sold separately.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Very wide operation set from one binary, including typesetting text onto pages APIs for Java, .NET, C, Python and JavaScript alongside the CLI	Handles PostScript, PDF, PCL and XPS in one interpreter The de facto engine for PDF conversion and compression in print workflows
Free only for non-commercial use Closed source	Command line with a famously cryptic option set Commercial redistribution requires a paid Artifex licence
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: AGPL-3.0
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.