Collabora Online vs Stirling PDF
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted document management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Collabora Online
Self-hosted online office suite based on LibreOffice
VS
Stirling PDF
Powerful locally hosted web-based PDF toolkit
| Feature | Collabora Online | Stirling PDF |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Shell | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,316 | ★ 89,077 |
| First released | 2015 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Docs, Microsoft 365 | Adobe Acrobat, Smallpdf |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Collabora Online or Stirling PDF better?
Stirling PDF is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Collabora Online if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Collabora Online and Stirling PDF free and open-source?
Yes. Collabora Online is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Stirling PDF under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Collabora Online and Stirling PDF with Docker?
Collabora Online: yes. Stirling PDF: yes.