Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Nitro PDF Pro

Stirling PDF is an open-source PDF platform for editing, converting, and automating PDF workflows through a web interface and a private REST API. It provides a broad toolkit for common PDF operations while keeping documents within your own environment.

Key Features

• 50+ PDF tools including merge, split, compress, convert, and manipulate PDFs
• OCR, redaction, and signing tools for document processing workflows
• Browser-based UI plus server deployment with API access for integrations
• Automation and reusable workflows/pipelines to batch process documents
• Enterprise-oriented capabilities such as SSO and auditing (availability may depend on edition)
• Multi-language interface (40+ languages)

Use Cases

• Internal PDF processing service for teams that cannot use third-party SaaS tools
• Automating high-volume document conversions and transformations via REST API
• Standardizing repeatable PDF workflows (e.g., OCR + compress + redact) for operations

Limitations and Considerations

• The project is open-core; some enterprise features and offerings may require a paid plan

Stirling PDF fits individuals through enterprises needing a configurable PDF toolkit with both a UI and API. It is especially useful when privacy, compliance, or on-prem processing requirements prevent sending documents to external services.

BentoPDF is a self-hostable PDF toolkit that runs entirely in the browser, enabling PDF editing, organization, conversion, and processing without uploading files to a server. It is designed for privacy-sensitive workflows where documents must remain on the user’s device.

Key Features

• 100% client-side PDF processing for strong privacy (no server-side file handling required)
• Large collection of PDF tools, including merge, split, rotate, extract, and page organization
• In-browser PDF editor with annotations, highlights, comments, shapes, images, and search
• Redaction tools for permanently removing sensitive content
• Form workflows including creating fillable forms and filling forms (including XFA support)
• Utilities such as watermarking, headers/footers, page numbers, metadata viewing, and PDF comparison
• Optional image-processing capabilities (e.g., deskewing) using OpenCV

Use Cases

• Internal self-hosted PDF utilities for teams handling confidential documents
• Browser-based PDF editing and redaction for compliance-oriented environments
• Converting and preparing documents (splitting, merging, watermarking) without file uploads

Limitations and Considerations

• Performance depends on the user’s browser and device resources, especially for very large PDFs
• Some advanced PDF operations may vary in fidelity depending on source document complexity

BentoPDF provides a comprehensive set of PDF tools while keeping document processing local to the user’s device. It is well-suited for organizations and individuals who want modern PDF workflows without relying on third-party cloud processing.

PdfDing is a self-hosted PDF manager, viewer, and editor designed for a fast, minimal, browser-based experience across devices. It helps you organize your PDF library, continue reading where you left off, and make edits or annotations without relying on third-party cloud services.

Key Features

• Browser-based PDF viewing with remembered reading position across devices
• Library organization with multi-level tags, starring, and archiving
• PDF editing tools including text, highlighting, and drawings
• Signature creation and reuse across devices
• Dedicated sections for managing and exporting highlights and comments
• Share PDFs via link or QR code with optional access control
• Single Sign-On via OIDC
• Customizable UI with dark mode, inverted colors, theme colors, and multiple layouts
• Markdown notes associated with documents

Use Cases

• Personal or team PDF library for papers, manuals, and ebooks with structured tagging
• Reviewing and annotating PDFs (highlights, drawings, comments) and exporting notes
• Securely sharing selected documents externally using expiring or access-controlled links

PdfDing is a strong fit for users who want complete ownership of their PDF collection while keeping a modern reading and annotation workflow. Its emphasis on multi-device continuity and lightweight deployment makes it well-suited for homelabs and small teams.

Fast Music Remover is a lightweight media processing service that removes background music and reduces noise from audio or video content. It provides a simple web interface backed by a C++ processing core and a Python web server for easy local or containerized use.

Key Features

• Background music filtering and general noise reduction for improved speech clarity
• Accepts both uploaded files and remote media via URL (e.g., online video sources)
• Web UI for submitting jobs and previewing the processed output
• C++ “MediaProcessor” core for efficient processing, orchestrated by a Python backend
• Uses FFmpeg for media probing, extraction, and handling common audio/video formats
• Docker and Docker Compose deployment option for quick setup

Use Cases

• Cleaning dialogue in recorded talks, lectures, or interviews by reducing music and noise
• Processing online videos to make speech more intelligible for listening or transcription
• Preparing cleaner audio tracks for editing workflows or downstream ML speech tasks

Limitations and Considerations

• Output quality depends on source material and the characteristics of background music/noise
• Real-time processing is indicated as a planned/experimental capability rather than a stable feature

Fast Music Remover is a practical choice for users who want a straightforward, browser-based way to enhance spoken audio by removing background music and reducing noise. Its container-friendly deployment and modular processing approach make it suitable for both casual use and iterative experimentation.