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Ghostscript VS PDFsam

Compare Ghostscript VS PDFsam and see what are their differences

Ghostscript

Documentation.

Ghostscript Landing page
Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Alternatives Is it good?
PDFsam

PDFsam Basic, a free, open source, multi-platform software designed to split, merge, extract pages, mix and rotate PDF files

PDFsam Landing page
Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source Free
Alternatives Is it good?
KeptPDF
Redact, edit, OCR, and sign PDFs entirely in your browser. The file never leaves your device. Free, no account needed. sponsored

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, PDFsam seems to be a lot more popular than Ghostscript. While we know about 32 links to PDFsam, we've tracked only 1 mention of Ghostscript.

social mentions
1 vs 32
PDF Editor popularity
19% vs 81%
alternatives listed
122 vs 240+

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Ghostscript
PDFsam
Website ghostscript.com pdfsam.org
Pricing
Open source
Open source Free Official pricing
Platforms —
Windows Linux Mac OSX
Listed in
PDF Editor PDF Tools PDF PDF Converter +1
PDF Tools PDF Creator PDF Editor PDF Converter +1

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Ghostscript 5 features
PDFsam 5 features
  • Open Source
    Ghostscript is released under an open-source license, which means it is available for free and can be modified to suit individual needs.
  • PDF and PS Compatibility
    It supports a wide range of PDF and PostScript documents, providing robust rendering capabilities for different file types.
  • Cross-platform
    Ghostscript runs on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing flexibility and accessibility across platforms.
  • Command-line Tool
    It operates as a command-line tool, enabling automation and integration into larger workflows and scripts for batch processing.
  • Extensive Documentation
    Ghostscript offers comprehensive documentation that supports users in understanding and utilizing its extensive features effectively.

Possible disadvantages

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For users who are not familiar with command-line interfaces or the specifics of PDF and PostScript formats, it can be difficult to learn.
  • Limited GUI Support
    While powerful as a command-line tool, Ghostscript lacks an intuitive graphical user interface, which may limit its accessibility for non-technical users.
  • Performance
    Processing large or complex documents can be resource-intensive and may result in slower performance, depending on the system's capabilities.
  • Complex Configuration
    Ghostscript requires detailed configuration for certain operations, which can be challenging without sufficient technical expertise.
  • Dependency on External Libraries
    It may rely on additional libraries for certain functionalities, and ensuring compatibility can sometimes be problematic during updates or installation on different systems.
  • Cost
    PDFsam Basic is free and open-source, which makes it highly accessible for individual users and small businesses.
  • User Interface
    The interface is simple and straightforward, allowing users to easily navigate and use the essential features without a steep learning curve.
  • Functionality
    PDFsam includes essential features such as merging, splitting, rotating, and extracting PDF pages, which can cover most common PDF editing needs.
  • Cross-Platform
    PDFsam is available on multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring broad compatibility and usability.
  • Community Support
    Being an open-source project, PDFsam has a community of users and developers who contribute to its improvement and troubleshooting.

Possible disadvantages

  • Advanced Features
    The free version lacks advanced features like OCR, which are available in the paid versions such as PDFsam Enhanced.
  • Performance
    Some users report that the application can be slow when processing large documents or performing complex tasks.
  • Interface Design
    While functional, the user interface is not as modern or visually appealing compared to some other PDF software.
  • Commercial Use
    For businesses, the licenses for the advanced features in PDFsam Enhanced can be costly, especially for small enterprises.
  • Customer Support
    While there is a user community for support, professional customer support is limited to the paid versions, which might be a hurdle for those needing quick assistance.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Ghostscript
PDFsam

No analysis of Ghostscript yet.

Overall verdict

  • PDFsam is considered a good tool, especially for users who need a straightforward and cost-effective solution for managing PDFs. Its open-source background ensures transparency and community support, while its user-friendly interface appeals to those without advanced technical skills.

Why this product is good

  • PDFsam (PDF Split and Merge) is a popular tool for handling PDF documents due to its simplicity, open-source nature, and ability to perform a range of common PDF tasks like splitting, merging, rotating, and extracting pages. It offers both a free basic version and a more advanced version with additional features, making it accessible and flexible for different user needs.

Recommended for

    PDFsam is recommended for individuals and small businesses looking for an easy-to-use, cost-efficient PDF tool capable of handling everyday PDF manipulation tasks without the complexity or expense of more advanced software. It’s particularly suitable for users who require basic features and occasional PDF editing.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Ghostscript 3 videos + Add
PDFsam 2 videos + Add

How to RIP Halftones FREE using Ghostscript - part 1

More videos

  • Review - Print Color Separations With Ghostscript - SEPARATIONS WITHOUT A RIP
  • Review - Web Hacking Pro Tips #4 with Jason Haddix: Ghostscript

How to Use PDFsam

More videos

  • Demo - PDFSamVisual Demo

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Ghostscript
PDFsam
19% 19%
PDF Editor
81% 81%
5% 5%
PDF Tools
95% 95%
100% 100%
Office & Productivity
0% 0%
100% 100%
Tool
0% 0%

User comments

Share your experience with using Ghostscript and PDFsam. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Ghostscript no reviews yet
PDFsam no reviews yet

We have no reviews of Ghostscript yet. Be the first one to post

  • 15 PDF editors quick review
    thinkmobiles.com · May 2020

    This is a simple open source Java pdf editor. The basic version allows you to edit the content and structure of pdf documents. Builds of this version are available for Windows, MacOS and Linux. PDFsam Enhanced version...

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Ghostscript 1 mention
PDFsam 32 mentions
  • JavaFX In Action with Pedro Duque Vieira, aka Duke, about Hero, PDFSam, FXThemes, FXComponents,...
    He shares insights into a few applications, like Hero (CAD application to calculate energy efficiency) and PDFSam (powerful and professional PDF editor). PDFSam had 100.000 downloads in April '24! - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • Pdftool.org: modify pdfs offline in the browser
    I find pdfsam to be the perfect offline tool for me on Windows. https://pdfsam.org And it's open source as well: https://github.com/torakiki/pdfsam. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Free pdf editor?
    That might be fit for your purpose PDFSam. Source: over 3 years ago

View more

Alternatives to Ghostscript and PDFsam

When comparing Ghostscript and PDFsam, you can also consider the following products.

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