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iTextPDF VS PDFsam

Compare iTextPDF VS PDFsam and see what are their differences

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 featured
Contents:
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  2. » Videos
  3. » Reviews
  4. » Alternatives

iTextPDF logo iTextPDF

iText offers flexible tools for PDF creation, editing and inspection.

PDFsam logo PDFsam

PDFsam Basic, a free, open source, multi-platform software designed to split, merge, extract pages, mix and rotate PDF files
  • iTextPDF Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-09
  • PDFsam Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-27

iTextPDF

Website
itextpdf.com
Pricing URL
-
$ Details
Platforms
-
Edit details

PDFsam

Website
pdfsam.org
Pricing URL
Official PDFsam Pricing
$ Details
free
Platforms
Windows Linux Mac OSX
Edit details

iTextPDF features and specs

  • Comprehensive Features
    iTextPDF offers a wide range of features for creating, manipulating, and processing PDF documents, making it suitable for various applications.
  • High Performance
    The library is known for its high performance and ability to handle large volumes of PDF documents efficiently.
  • Cross-Platform
    iTextPDF is cross-platform and can be used in different environments such as Java and .NET, enhancing its versatility.
  • Extensive Documentation
    iText provides comprehensive documentation and tutorials, which are helpful for developers to understand and effectively use the library.
  • Active Community and Support
    iTextPDF has an active community and provides professional support options, which can be beneficial for troubleshooting and optimizing usage.

Possible disadvantages of iTextPDF

  • Licensing Costs
    iTextPDF is not free for commercial use, and licensing costs can be a significant consideration for businesses.
  • Complexity
    Due to its comprehensive feature set, iTextPDF can be complex to learn and use, especially for newcomers or smaller projects.
  • Resource Intensive
    Processing PDFs at scale may require significant resources, which can be a factor for systems with limited computational capacity.
  • Overhead for Simple Tasks
    For simpler PDF tasks, iTextPDF might introduce unnecessary overhead compared to more lightweight libraries.

PDFsam features and specs

  • 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 of PDFsam

  • 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 of iTextPDF

Overall verdict

  • iTextPDF is considered a robust and reliable solution for PDF generation and manipulation, particularly suited for enterprise-level projects where extensive PDF functionalities are required.

Why this product is good

  • iTextPDF is a well-regarded library for creating and manipulating PDF documents programmatically. It is known for its comprehensive features, allowing developers to generate PDFs from scratch, or modify existing documents. It handles complex PDF tasks, including encryption, digital signatures, and form filling. The library is highly customizable and integrates well with Java and .NET applications. Its active community and extensive documentation contribute to its usability.

Recommended for

  • Developers who need to generate complex PDF documents programmatically.
  • Businesses seeking a reliable tool for creating, modifying, and distributing PDF reports or forms.
  • Projects that require extensive customization of PDF features, such as digital signatures or embedded multimedia elements.
  • Organizations looking for a solution that supports both Java and .NET platforms.

Analysis of PDFsam

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.

iTextPDF videos

+ Add

IR project Demo (Java Eclipse + itextpdf)

PDFsam videos

+ Add

How to Use PDFsam

More videos:

  • Demo - PDFSamVisual Demo

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to iTextPDF and PDFsam)

iTextPDF

PDFsam

PDF Tools
15 15%
PDF Tools
85% 85
Office & Productivity
49 49%
Office & Productivity
51% 51
PDF Editor
12 12%
PDF Editor
88% 88
PDF Creator
0 0%
PDF Creator
100% 100

User comments

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

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare iTextPDF and PDFsam

iTextPDF Reviews

We have no reviews of iTextPDF yet.
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PDFsam Reviews

15 PDF editors quick review
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 provides all the basic tools needed for the pdf editor. Special utilities for securing files and converting their contents are only available in the Pro version.
Source: thinkmobiles.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, PDFsam should be more popular than iTextPDF. It has been mentiond 32 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.

iTextPDF mentions (6)

  • When Should I Use WebAssembly?
    PDF Manipulation: Render and edit PDF documents using a mature library like iText, running in Wasm. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Adobe’s Monopoly on PDFs: The Innovation Bottleneck and the Need for Open-Source Alternatives
    Some open-source PDF tools, like iText and Ghostscript, have restrictive licenses, making them impractical for commercial use. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • PDF rendering server-side using HTML 5 + CSS 3
    Are you looking for a way to render PDF's or produce them? If you want to produce PDF's, I've used https://pdfbox.apache.org/ successfully as well as https://itextpdf.com/ (potentially costs money). Source: over 1 year ago
  • I interviewed Bruno Lowagie, who successfully commercialized his FOSS library, iText, between 2008 and 2018, for Code Code Ship: “Commercializing iText had a significant impact on the quality of the library”
    So, the case study would be an optional request/collaboration, but slapping your logo on their site (as seen on their home page just below the fold) is not written as optional. Say what you will about AGPL, but if you're a paying customer, this should be an easy provision to strike from the agreement if requested. They declined and our internal legal team refused to accept the agreement as a result and so we found... Source: about 2 years ago
  • How do i convert html file to pdf file using java(fx)?
    Not really a JavaFX question as JavaFX is a UI framework. Your question is therefore just related to Java. To answer that I've seen a similar feature from IText (https://itextpdf.com) or OpenPDF (https://github.com/LibrePDF/OpenPDF) as an open source alternative. Maybe take a look at those for a start and check if they provide you what you're looking for. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

PDFsam mentions (32)

  • 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 / 11 months 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 / almost 2 years ago
  • Free pdf editor?
    That might be fit for your purpose PDFSam. Source: about 2 years ago
  • My 2023 Bingo Card
    Use pdfsam.org to split the pdf into individual sheets fyi. Source: over 2 years ago
  • What's the best tool to merge pdf files?
    PDFsam - merge, split, extract pages, rotate and mix your PDF files. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

PDF Joiner - This online tool allows you to join several PDF documents into a single file, free of charge.

PDF-XChange Editor - The smallest, fastest, most feature-rich PDF editor/viewer available

PDFChef Merge PDF - PDFChef Merge PDF is an online tool that allows you to merge multiple PDf files into one quickly and securely.

PDF24 PDF Creator - Create PDF and convert documents to PDF for free with the free PDF24 PDF Creator.

PDFill - Open, View, Edit, Save and Print PDF Documents without Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat DC - Make your job easier with Adobe Acrobat DC, the trusted PDF creator. Use Acrobat to convert, edit and sign PDF files at your desk or on the go.

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