Compare software

mutool (MuPDF) vs Poppler: catalog facts
mutool (MuPDF)	Poppler
Free Listed as open source, distributed with the MuPDF project.	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Lightweight CLI for batch PDF extraction, cleaning and merging Cross-platform on Linux, macOS and Windows	pdftotext and pdftoppm are the standard tools for extraction and rasterising Underpins PDF rendering across the Linux desktop
Command-line only, with no graphical interface for casual users Documentation targets developers integrating MuPDF rather than end users	Licensed under the GPL, so programs calling it must be too A library plus utilities rather than an application
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: AGPL-3.0	License: GPL-2.0
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.