Software Alternatives & Startups

Apache CXF VS DocSpring

Compare Apache CXF VS DocSpring and see what are their differences

Apache CXF logo Apache CXF

Apache CXF, Services Framework - Index

DocSpring logo DocSpring

PDF filling API that makes it easy to fill out PDF forms and convert HTML to PDFs
  • Apache CXF Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-12-29
  • DocSpring PDF Template Editor
    PDF Template Editor //
    2025-02-26
  • DocSpring HTML Template Preview
    HTML Template Preview //
    2025-02-26
  • DocSpring HTML Template Editor
    HTML Template Editor //
    2025-02-26
  • DocSpring Auto-generated Web Form
    Auto-generated Web Form //
    2025-02-26
  • DocSpring E-Signatures
    E-Signatures //
    2025-02-26
  • DocSpring View Submissions
    View Submissions //
    2025-02-26
  • DocSpring View API Request Logs
    View API Request Logs //
    2025-02-26
  • DocSpring Postman Collection
    Postman Collection //
    2025-02-26

We provide a PDF filling and generation API:

  • Upload your PDF to our visual template editor to set up form fields and data types
  • Post JSON to fill out existing PDF forms with data
  • Generate editable PDF forms, or overlay static data on top of fields
  • Create HTML/CSS templates with Liquid fields, then post JSON to generate PDFs
  • Use our merge API to combine multiple PDFs into a single document

PDF generation doesn't need to be complicated or take weeks of engineering time. Use our battle-tested service to start filling out PDFs in minutes.

DocSpring

$ Details
freemium $49 / Monthly (Starter - 50 PDFs / mo)
Release Date
2017 October
Startup details
Country
United States
State
Delaware
City
Newark
Founder(s)
Nathan Broadbent
Employees
1 - 9

Apache CXF features and specs

  • Comprehensive Web Service Support
    Apache CXF supports a wide range of web service standards including SOAP, REST, and various WS-* standards, allowing developers to work with different service types under one framework.
  • Flexibility
    CXF is highly configurable and can be customized to meet various needs ranging from simple web APIs to complex enterprise integrations, supporting both XML and JSON formats.
  • Integration
    It integrates well with other Java enterprise standards and frameworks such as Spring and JAX-RS, offering seamless integration into existing systems.
  • Active Community and Documentation
    Being an Apache project, CXF benefits from a large, active community which contributes to extensive documentation, forums, and community support.
  • Performance
    Apache CXF is designed to be lightweight and efficient, which can lead to better performance in web service communication compared to some heavier alternatives.

Possible disadvantages of Apache CXF

  • Complexity for Beginners
    The extensive features and flexibility of Apache CXF can make it complex for beginners to get started, requiring a good understanding of web service concepts and configurations.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its wide range of capabilities and configurability, mastering Apache CXF may involve a steep learning curve for developers, especially those new to web services or enterprise integration.
  • Documentation Gaps
    While there is extensive documentation, it can sometimes be outdated or lacking in detailed examples for complex configurations and newer features, which can be challenging for developers needing specific information.
  • Overhead for Simple Use-Cases
    For very simple REST or SOAP web services, Apache CXF may introduce more complexity and overhead than necessary compared to more lightweight alternatives or simpler frameworks.

DocSpring features and specs

  • Automated PDF Generation
    DocSpring allows users to automate the generation of PDFs by filling out templates with data. This can significantly reduce the time and effort needed to create documents.
  • API Integration
    DocSpring offers a robust API, which allows developers to integrate PDF generation into their own applications easily, enhancing productivity and workflow automation.
  • Flexible Templates
    The platform supports flexible and customizable templates, enabling businesses to maintain brand consistency while meeting specific document formatting requirements.
  • Secure Data Handling
    DocSpring is SOC 2 Type II compliant. We ensure data security through encryption and secure storage options, making it suitable for handling sensitive information.
  • Ease of Use
    The user interface is designed to be intuitive, making it easy for businesses to create and manage PDF templates without requiring extensive technical knowledge.

Apache CXF videos

15-Generating Code - SOAP WSDL to Java using Apache CXF Plugin | Maven for Beginners | Code Journal

DocSpring videos

No DocSpring videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache CXF and DocSpring)
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
PDF Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Ruby Web Framework
100 100%
0% 0
Document Automation
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Apache CXF and DocSpring.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

DocSpring's answer:

Ruby on Rails, React, AWS

What makes your product unique?

DocSpring's answer:

DocSpring is built specifically for developers who need reliable, secure PDF generation in production. We combine PDF form filling and HTML-to-PDF in a single API, with a visual template editor, typed fields, and validation to catch issues early. Our product has a lot of power features and is built to handle very advanced forms. Our infrastructure is SOC 2 Type II compliant, battle-tested, privacy focused, and optimized for high-volume workloads, so you can ship PDF features quickly and then stop thinking about them.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

DocSpring's answer:

DocSpring is designed for teams who need a powerful tool with all the features you need for complex forms and business logic. DocSpring supports structured JSON, typed fields, and array iterations, and many other advanced features, so your templates stay aligned with your real data model. You get powerful validation, a visual editor, strong observability, and an API that fits into modern engineering workflows, so you spend less time fighting PDFs and more time shipping product.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

DocSpring's answer:

DocSpring is built for engineering and product teams who manage complex documents in production: things like financial applications, insurance forms, healthcare and legal documents, HR and payroll workflows, and government-style forms.

What's the story behind your product?

DocSpring's answer:

I used to work at a payroll company (Gusto). We had built a similar in-house tool for filling out tax forms. I then built the first version of DocSpring (formerly named FormAPI) while I was living in Thailand. I built it to automate the filling out of visa application and visa extension forms, but realized that it could also be used for tax forms, real estate contracts, and any other kind of fillable PDF form.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

DocSpring's answer:

  • SaaS services serving customers in the real estate, insurance, finance, and legal industries, among many others.

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, DocSpring should be more popular than Apache CXF. It has been mentiond 5 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache CXF mentions (2)

  • It's 2023. Your API should have a schema
    SOAP died because it is awful. There are plenty of java libraries that can generate java code from a WSDL. Apache CXF seem to be the fairly standard library people use. (https://cxf.apache.org). Source: about 3 years ago
  • What’s Coming in Jakarta REST 3.1?
    A few years back, Adam Bien wrote an excellent blog post on how to configure JSON-B in a Jakarta REST application. The only trouble is that at that time, the approach only worked with Eclipse Jersey. Since then other implementations (including Open Liberty via Apache CXF) also enabled this functionality, but it will become a standard in 3.1, enabling more portable usage of JSON-B configuration. - Source: dev.to / over 5 years ago

DocSpring mentions (5)

  • Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (February 2025)
    I'm still working on DocSpring [1], originally launched on Hacker News in October 2017 under the name "FormAPI." It's a PDF generation API with a template editor UI for setting up fields on PDF forms. It makes it easy to turn complex tax and immigration forms into simple type-safe APIs with strong validations. I've been having a lot of fun with AI agents lately. Have tried a lot of them - Cline, Roo Code,... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Launch HN: Onedoc (YC W24) – A better way to create PDFs
    For programmatic filling of PDFs, have a look at DocSpring: https://docspring.com. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • So you want to modify the text of a PDF by hand
    Great post. I've spend a lot of time reading through the PDF specification over the last ~5 years while building DocSpring [1], and I still feel like I've barely scratched the surface. Qpdf is a great tool. One of my other favorites is RUPS [2], which really lets you dig into the structure of a PDF. [1] https://docspring.com [2] https://github.com/itext/i7j-rups. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Workflow for automating document creation from a "database"
    Hi /u/pepeday, I’m the founder of a software product that I built to solve this problem. The service is called DocSpring: https://docspring.com We provide a platform that you can use to set up PDF templates, and automatically generate PDFs by filling in those templates with data from your database. Please feel free to send me a message and I’d be happy to speak with you and help you figure out a solution. I can... Source: almost 5 years ago
  • How do you fill copies of the same PDF certificates with Excel data?
    - https://docspring.com/ (super advanced features, a bit bloated). Source: about 5 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache CXF and DocSpring, you can also consider the following products

ASP.NET - ASP.NET is a free web framework for building great Web sites and Web applications using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

DocRaptor - As the only API powered by the Prince HTML-to-PDF engine, DocRaptor provides the best support for complex PDFs with powerful support for headers, page breaks, page numbers, flexbox, watermarks, accessible PDFs, and much more

jQuery UI - Curated set of user interface interactions, effects, widgets, and themes built on top of the jQuery JavaScript Library

Doczilla - Effortlessly create stunning PDFs and screenshots. Seamlessly store them in your own AWS or Google Cloud Storage bucket, putting the control and creativity right at your fingertips.

Font Awesome - Font Awesome makes it easy to add vector icons and social logos to your website. And version 5 is redesigned and built from the ground up!

wkhtmltopdf - wkhtmltopdf is an open source (LGPL) command line tools to render HTML into PDF and various image...