PDFluent vs Java PDF Libraries

iText and PDFBox are mature Java PDF libraries. They require a JVM, which has to start before the first PDF call.

iText 7 and Apache PDFBox are two long-established Java PDF libraries. Both are mature and well-documented, but both require a JVM at runtime. iText 7 is AGPL-licensed, which requires commercial users to either open-source their application or purchase a commercial license. PDFBox is Apache-licensed and free, but has no XFA support and limited form-filling capability. PDFluent is a Rust crate: no JVM, WASM-compatible, and available under AGPLv3 or a commercial license.

Side-by-side

PDFluent
Rust
use pdfluent::PdfDocument;

fn main() -> pdfluent::Result<()> {
    let mut doc = PdfDocument::open("invoice.pdf")?;

    // Extract text from page 1
    let text = doc.page(1)?.text()?;
    println!("{}", text);

    // Fill a form field
    doc.form_mut().set_text("invoice_number", "INV-2024-001")?;

    doc.save("invoice_filled.pdf")?;
    Ok(())
}
Java PDF Libraries (iText / PDFBox)
Java
import com.itextpdf.kernel.pdf.PdfDocument;
import com.itextpdf.kernel.pdf.PdfReader;
import com.itextpdf.kernel.pdf.PdfWriter;
import com.itextpdf.forms.PdfAcroForm;
import com.itextpdf.kernel.pdf.canvas.parser.PdfTextExtractor;
import com.itextpdf.kernel.pdf.canvas.parser.listener
    .LocationTextExtractionStrategy;

// Requires a JVM, which starts before the first call in Lambda
public class InvoiceProcessor {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        PdfDocument pdf = new PdfDocument(
            new PdfReader("invoice.pdf"),
            new PdfWriter("invoice_filled.pdf")
        );

        // Extract text from page 1
        String text = PdfTextExtractor.getTextFromPage(
            pdf.getPage(1),
            new LocationTextExtractionStrategy()
        );
        System.out.println(text);

        // Fill a form field
        PdfAcroForm form = PdfAcroForm.getAcroForm(pdf, true);
        form.getField("invoice_number")
            .setValue("INV-2024-001");

        pdf.close(); // must explicitly close
    }
}

Feature comparison

FeaturePDFluentJava PDF Libraries (iText / PDFBox)
Runtime requiredNone (static binary)JVM (Java 11+)
Cold start (serverless)No runtime to start; opening a file: 1.7 ms median on one MacBook (A22, 2026-08-24)JVM startup on every cold invocation
Base memory usageNo JVMRequires a JVM
WASM / browser support
Serverless deploy without runtime layer
AcroForm fillingiText: yes / PDFBox: partial
XFA formsiText (add-on) / PDFBox: no
Price published, bought with a cardiText: no / PDFBox: N/A
Published pricingiText: no / PDFBox: free (Apache)
LicenseAGPLv3 or commercialiText: AGPL / PDFBox: Apache-2.0

Pros and cons

PDFluent

  • No JVM — runs as a static binary with no runtime dependency
  • No runtime to start first — a native binary, so nothing warms up before the first page
  • No JVM heap to size or tune
  • Compiles to WASM for browser-side PDF processing
  • XFA form support without a separate add-on
  • Commercial licence lifts the AGPL copyleft — published price
  • Younger codebase — iText and PDFBox have more production history
  • Smaller community and fewer Stack Overflow answers today
  • Java teams need to learn Rust, or use language bindings

Java PDF Libraries (iText / PDFBox)

  • Mature libraries with many years of production use
  • Large Java community and extensive documentation
  • PDFBox is free under Apache-2.0
  • iText has a wide feature surface including HTML-to-PDF
  • Requires a JVM, which starts before your first PDF operation
  • JVM heap sizing is part of every deployment
  • No WASM support — cannot run in the browser
  • iText AGPL license requires commercial license for proprietary use
  • PDFBox has limited form-filling and no XFA support
  • Large Docker images due to JRE layer

When to use each

Choose PDFluent

PDFluent is the right choice for new Rust projects, serverless deployments where cold starts matter, applications targeting WASM or browser environments, and commercial products that want to avoid the iText AGPL license. It is also the right choice when consolidating a mixed Java PDF stack.

Choose Java PDF Libraries (iText / PDFBox)

iText or PDFBox are reasonable if you have a large existing Java codebase, your team knows Java deeply, and you are running on always-warm JVM servers where cold start latency is not a concern. PDFBox is a practical choice for Apache-licensed projects that only need basic reading and text extraction.

Bottom line

iText is feature-rich but AGPL-licensed — commercial users must purchase a license or open-source their application. PDFBox is free but limited on forms and has no XFA support. Both require a JVM, which adds cold-start latency, increases memory use, and complicates serverless and WASM deployments. PDFluent matches or exceeds both on features, runs without a JVM, and adds WASM support that Java cannot provide.

Frequently asked questions

What does the iText AGPL license mean for my product?
If you use iText 7 in a commercial application, AGPL requires you to either release your entire application as open source or purchase an iText commercial license. Many companies are unaware of this obligation. PDFluent's commercial license is transparent and does not require opening your source code.
How much does the JVM cold start matter?
For Lambda functions or serverless containers that handle bursty traffic, JVM cold starts add latency to every cold invocation. PDFluent eliminates that overhead. For always-warm deployments the difference is less significant.
Does PDFBox have any advantages over PDFluent?
PDFBox is Apache-licensed (free for commercial use) and has a large community. If you have an existing Java codebase and only need basic text extraction with no form filling or XFA, PDFBox works. As soon as you need forms, WASM, or serverless, PDFluent is the better fit.
Can I call PDFluent from a Java application during a gradual migration?
Yes. PDFluent exposes a C API and Java bindings. You can call PDFluent from your existing Java service while migrating operations incrementally, without rewriting the entire application at once.
SDK · Install

Try it on your own files.

Free under the AGPLv3, or a commercial licence if you would rather not publish your own source.