Compare software

pdfcpu vs pdfly: catalog facts
pdfcpupdfly
Free

Free and open source under the Apache licence.

Free

Free software under the BSD 3-Clause license.

Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line Command line
  • Single static binary with no dependencies
  • Doubles as a Go library, so the same operations work inside your own program
  • Includes commands for PDF extraction, editing and conversion
  • Can create booklet layouts and verify signed PDFs
  • Command line only
  • Newer than the established tools, so some edge-case PDFs still fail
  • Command-line interface requires comfort with terminal commands
Downloadable app Downloadable app
Open source Open source
License: Apache-2.0 License: BSD-3-Clause
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

Checked September 22, 2026

Checked October 8, 2026

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