Stirling PDF

Stirling PDF replaces every sketchy "free PDF tool" website with a self-hosted alternative that actually respects your data. It packs 30+ PDF tools into one clean web application: merge, split, compress, convert, edit, sign, watermark, rotate, and more. All processing happens locally — your files never touch an external server, which matters enormously for sensitive documents. The drag-and-drop interface is genuinely pleasant to use, with a modern design that doesn't feel like a 2005 web app. What makes Stirling PDF special is that it solves a real, everyday problem that most people handle by uploading documents to unknown websites. The Docker setup is straightforward, and once it's running, it covers virtually every PDF task you'll encounter. The trade-off is that it's a single-purpose tool — it does PDFs well and nothing else. But for PDF processing, it's the most comprehensive self-hosted option available.

Good first choice if you want a practical tool without spending the afternoon reading developer docs.