Jacob Collins Jacob is a Java developer and the product manager of JPedal

PDFBox alternative

1 min read

PDFBox alternative (Jpedal)

PDFBox alternative (Jpedal)
Working with PDF documents in Java, developers often encounter the choice between open-source libraries like Apache PDFBox and commercial solutions like JPedal.

While PDFBox offers a free and versatile toolkit, JPedal presents a compelling alternative with its focus on performance, support, and ease of use.

This article explores the key differences between PDFBox and JPedal, demonstrating why JPedal can be a better alternative for commercial solutions.

Though PDFBox is open-source, JPedal has also been developed (and is maintained) by a small group of nerdy wizards. (we used to regularly swap notes with Ben Litchfield – the original author of PdfBox).

Java PDFBox Alternative

PDFBox and JPedal are both solutions for Java developers working with PDFs. JPedal is aimed more towards rendering and viewing PDFs and focuses more on maintaining graphical fidelity. PDFBox on the other hand focuses on extracting content from PDF.

JPedal comes with a high-performance Java Swing PDF viewer which you can embed into your own application. JPedal has additional rendering features such as zoom, rotation and annotation handling.

PDFBox has features such as digital signatures which JPedal has also recently added under its belt. Where PDFBox focuses on PDF content extraction and manipulation, JPedal also has these features with additional emphasis on desktop and server-side PDF rendering.

PDFBox vs JPedal

PDFBox rendering is limited to basic visualization tasks such as converting PDFs to static image formats. JPedal on the hand provides professional-grade PDF rendering.

PDFBox can convert PDF to Images, in addition to this, JPedal can also convert structured PDF to HTML. Furthermore, JPedal is designed for easy integration into existing apps.

The vigorous support team for JPedal constantly works on fixing ‘problem’ PDFs where PDFBox users generally have to deal with it themselves. Similarly, the team is working regularly to optimise speed and memory usage with regular releases.

JPedal is better suited for applications looking to integrate responsive and interactive PDF and excels at rendering large and complex PDFs quickly and accurately.

Conclusion

While Apache PDFBox excels in PDF manipulation and extraction, JPedal outshines it with advanced rendering, interactive viewing, and seamless integration.

For projects prioritizing high-quality visualization and user experience, JPedal is the better choice, offering a professional-grade solution for rendering and converting PDFs in enterprise and user-facing applications.



The JPedal PDF library allows you to solve these problems in Java


Why do developers choose JPedal over alternatives?

  1. Actively developed commercial library with full support and no third party dependencies.
  2. Simple licensing options and source code access for OEM users.
  3. Process PDF files up to 3x faster than alternative Java PDF libraries.

Jacob Collins Jacob is a Java developer and the product manager of JPedal