Samvera Hyrax 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?
Samvera Hyrax
Front-end for the Samvera framework, which itself is a Ruby on Rails
VS
Stirling PDF
Powerful locally hosted web-based PDF toolkit
| Feature | Samvera Hyrax | Stirling PDF |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 202 | ★ 89,077 |
| First released | 2026 | 2023 |
| Replaces | — | Adobe Acrobat, Smallpdf |
Why pick each one
Choose Samvera Hyrax if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Written in Ruby
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Samvera Hyrax or Stirling PDF better?
Stirling PDF is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Samvera Hyrax if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Samvera Hyrax and Stirling PDF free and open-source?
Yes. Samvera Hyrax is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Stirling PDF under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Samvera Hyrax and Stirling PDF with Docker?
Samvera Hyrax: check the project docs for container support. Stirling PDF: yes.