SHSelfHostIndex

DeDRM Tools vs pdf2htmlEX

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-books & media library options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
DE DeDRM Tools Calibre plugin suite for removing DRM from purchased ebooks VS PD pdf2htmlEX Converts PDF documents to HTML while preserving layout
FeatureDeDRM Toolspdf2htmlEX
CategoryE-books & Media LibraryE-books & Media Library
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguagePythonHTML
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM128 MB512 MB
Deploymentsourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 15,275★ 5,578
First released20142013
ReplacesAdobe Digital EditionsCommercial PDF converters

Why pick each one

Choose DeDRM Tools if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Mature project with 15.3k GitHub stars
  • Written in Python
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
DeDRM Tools details

Choose pdf2htmlEX if…

  • Excellent layout accuracy
  • Good for archiving
pdf2htmlEX details

Frequently asked questions

Is DeDRM Tools or pdf2htmlEX better?

Neither is universally better. DeDRM Tools has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are DeDRM Tools and pdf2htmlEX free and open-source?

Yes. DeDRM Tools is licensed under GPL-3.0 and pdf2htmlEX under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run DeDRM Tools and pdf2htmlEX with Docker?

DeDRM Tools: check the project docs for container support. pdf2htmlEX: yes.

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