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Apache PDFBox
Open-source Java tool for managing PDFs
Last updated: March 2026
Apache PDFBox Alternatives & Competitors (2026)
Top 10 free alternatives
Adobe Acrobat
PDF editing with e-signatures and document review tools
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Activity Tracking
5/5
Authentication
4.6/5
Alerts/Notifications
4.6/5
Top Features
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Merge/Append Files
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Content Publishing Options
5/5
Annotations
4.8/5
Convert to PDF
4.8/5
Top Features
API
N/A
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
API
5/5
Convert to PDF
4.8/5
Annotations
4.8/5
Top Features
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Merge/Append Files
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Alerts/Notifications
4.7/5
Authentication
4.6/5
Access Controls/Permissions
4.4/5
Top Features
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Merge/Append Files
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Batch Processing
4.7/5
Document Capture
4.7/5
Convert to PDF
4.6/5
Top Features
API
N/A
File Management
N/A
Merge/Append Files
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Encryption
5/5
Convert to PDF
4.7/5
Batch Processing
4.5/5
Top Features
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Merge/Append Files
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Action Management
4.7/5
Activity Dashboard
4.7/5
Access Controls/Permissions
4.5/5
Top Features
API
N/A
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Annotations
5/5
Approval Process Control
5/5
Bid Management
5/5
Top Features
API
N/A
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Alerts/Notifications
5/5
Collaboration Tools
5/5
Compression
4.7/5
Top Features
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Merge/Append Files
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Access Controls/Permissions
5/5
Activity Dashboard
5/5
Commenting/Notes
4.9/5
Top Features
API
N/A
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Convert to PDF
4.6/5
Commenting/Notes
4.6/5
Delete Pages
4.5/5
Top Features
API
N/A
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Optical Character Recognition
5/5
PDF Reader
4.7/5
Merge/Append Files
4.6/5
Top Features
API
N/A
File Management
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Customizable Branding
5/5
Convert to PDF
4.6/5
Communication Management
4.5/5
Top Features
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Merge/Append Files
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Authentication
4.7/5
Activity Dashboard
4.7/5
Autofill
4.5/5
Top Features
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Merge/Append Files
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Batch Processing
5/5
Digital Signature
5/5
Convert to PDF
4.8/5
Top Features
API
N/A
File Management
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Batch Processing
5/5
Convert to PDF
4.8/5
Annotations
4.8/5
Top Features
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Merge/Append Files
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
File Management
4.7/5
Convert to PDF
4.5/5
Document Management
4.5/5
Top Features
API
N/A
Merge/Append Files
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Annotations
4.7/5
Access Controls/Permissions
4.5/5
Archiving & Retention
4.4/5
Top Features
API
N/A
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Commenting/Notes
5/5
Customizable Forms
5/5
Convert to PDF
4.7/5
Top Features
API
N/A
File Management
N/A
Merge/Append Files
N/A
Value for money
Starting price
No pricing info
Functionality
Convert to PDF
4.1/5
Access Controls/Permissions
3.2/5
Collaboration Tools
2.9/5
Top Features
API
N/A
Digital Signature
N/A
File Management
N/A