Best Self Hosted Alternatives to PDFescape

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.

OmniTools is a self-hosted web application that bundles many everyday utilities into a single, fast web interface. It focuses on privacy by processing files and data entirely in the browser, so content does not need to be uploaded to a server.

Key Features

• Broad toolbox covering images, video/audio, PDFs, text/lists, date & time, math, and data formats
• Client-side processing for tools (privacy-friendly handling of files and content)
• Web-based UI accessible from any modern browser
• Includes common data utilities for formats such as JSON, CSV, and XML
• Docker-friendly deployment for lightweight hosting

Use Cases

• Quick PDF tasks such as splitting, merging, or basic editing
• Converting or resizing images and performing lightweight media edits in the browser
• Developer and productivity utilities for formatting text, and manipulating JSON/CSV/XML

OmniTools is a practical “Swiss army knife” style web app for teams or individuals who want a private, ad-free utilities page. It is especially useful when you want convenient tools with minimal infrastructure and client-side data handling.

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.

Signature PDF is an open-source web application for signing and manipulating PDF documents directly in the browser. It supports both solo signing and shared multi-signer workflows, alongside common PDF organization and optimization tools.

Key Features

• Add signatures, initials, stamps, text, strike-through annotations, and watermarks to PDFs
• Multi-signature workflow via a shared link (optional server-side PDF storage)
• Page organization tools: merge, reorder, rotate, delete, extract pages, and generate booklets
• PDF optimization: compress PDFs to reduce file size
• Edit PDF metadata (add, modify, or remove predefined fields)
• Optional server-side encryption for stored PDFs using a symmetric key known to signers
• Optional server-side digital signature using certificate tooling (NSS database and pdfsig)

Use Cases

• Collect signatures from multiple people on the same document using a shareable link
• Prepare PDFs by merging files, extracting pages, and standardizing page layout before sending
• Reduce PDF size for email delivery or archiving while retaining a usable document

Limitations and Considerations

• Multi-signature mode requires storing PDFs on the server, which impacts storage and retention planning
• Digital signature support depends on additional system tools and certificate setup on the host

Signature PDF is well-suited for organizations that need a lightweight, browser-based PDF signing and editing workflow. It combines signing, page management, metadata editing, and compression in a single self-hostable interface.

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.

OpenReader WebUI is a web application that converts documents into spoken audio using pluggable text-to-speech providers. It supports EPUB, PDF, DOCX, Markdown and plain text files and provides a read-along experience with configurable narration and export options.

Key Features

• Supports EPUB, PDF, DOCX, MD and TXT document formats with in-page read-along highlighting
• Multi-provider TTS support (OpenAI-compatible endpoints, Deepinfra, Kokoro/Orpheus FastAPI and other OpenAI-style APIs)
• Word-by-word timestamps (optional) produced server-side for precise highlighting
• Smart sentence-aware narration to merge sentences across pages/chapters for smoother playback
• Audiobook export to m4b/mp3 with resumable, chapter-based generation and audio caching
• Local-first storage using Dexie/IndexedDB with optional server-side /docstore for shared documents
• Optimized Next.js TTS proxy that requests audio server-side and caches audio for repeat playback
• Theming and UI customization options with Tailwind-based interface

Use Cases

• Listen to ebooks and documents hands-free with synchronized read-along highlighting
• Produce downloadable audiobooks from personal document collections with chapter structure
• Integrate local or cloud TTS providers for accessible reading workflows and study aids

Limitations and Considerations

• Requires an accessible TTS API provider or compatible OpenAI-style endpoint; quality and latency depend on the chosen provider
• Word-level highlighting is optional and requires a separate whisper.cpp binary for timestamp generation
• DOCX conversion and some exports rely on external tooling (LibreOffice for DOCX, FFmpeg for m4b creation)
• Performance and parallel processing depend on available server hardware and TTS provider throughput

OpenReader WebUI is focused on flexible, high-quality TTS for documents with strong local-first behavior and configurable provider support. It is best suited for users who can provide or run a compatible TTS API and who need precise read-along and audiobook export features.