shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Apache PDFBox | A Java PDF Library?

Open source Java tool for creating, manipulating, and extracting content from PDF documents, with command-line utilities. Apache License v2.0. - pdfbox.apache.org

Depends. Buy it if your team writes Java and needs to create, edit, or extract PDFs programmatically — it's free and battle-tested. Skip it if you're not a developer or not on the JVM; a converter tool or a Python/Node library fits better.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 30+ public sources; mostly official docs and academic citations, few in-depth user reviews.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityMailing lists documented; no quality data
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Open source

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Java developers building PDF features
  • Bulk PDF text extraction pipelines
  • Archival and document-management systems
  • Teams avoiding iText licensing costs

Not for

  • Non-developers who just want to edit a PDF
  • One-off PDF tasks — use free online tools
  • Python, Node, or .NET shops — wrong ecosystem
  • Anyone expecting automatic signature or PDF/A validation

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

DoS from hostile PDFs (CPU, memory, recursion) is explicitly out of security scope — add your own limits.

medium

Encryption and signatures rely on Bouncy Castle/JCA; crypto vulnerabilities get reported upstream, not here.

medium

Free means community mailing-list support only — no vendor, no SLA.

low

Multiple major versions mean migration guides and upgrade churn.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free, open source under Apache License v2.0 — no vendor or licensing costs.
  • Handles PDF creation, manipulation, content extraction, plus command-line utilities.
  • Permissive license wins over iText for many Java developers.
  • Long track record in academic, archival, and search-engine projects.
  • Publishes an explicit security threat model for processing untrusted PDFs.

Cons

  • Low-level library — no automatic signature, PDF/A, or permissions validation.
  • Malformed PDFs causing hangs or exceptions are not treated as security bugs.
  • Resource limits, timeouts, and sandboxing for untrusted PDFs are your job.
  • Java-only — irrelevant if you build in Python, Node, or .NET.

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/20/2026 - 8 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x1review x3security x1news x3

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 8

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free, Apache-licensed, no paid tiers
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Low-level library; needs Java coding skill
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Create, edit, extract, encrypt, sign; CLI included
  • Support quality. Mailing lists documented; no quality data
  • Security posture: 3/5. Public threat model; DoS risks fall on you
  • Free Price Apache License v2.0
  • Apr 2024 Latest release Maven Central, 2.0.x line
  • Java Ecosystem Library plus command-line tools

Pricing

Open source

$0

  • Full Java PDF library
  • Command-line utilities
  • Apache License v2.0

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

Companies that use it

  • Linagora (LinShare thumbnail engine)
Full analysis

Based on 30+ public sources; mostly official docs and academic citations, few in-depth user reviews.

Free, solid Java PDF library for developers. Skip it if you're not coding — use a converter instead.

Methodology

Based on 30+ public sources; mostly official docs and academic citations, few in-depth user reviews.

Sources

  1. Apache PDFBox | A Java PDF Librarypdfbox.apache.org
    official
  2. Apache PDFBox Security pagepdfbox.apache.org
    security
  3. Apache PDFBox — r/programming discussionreddit.com
    review
  4. 3 Java PDF Libraries that Java Devs mostly Work with — Mediummedium.com
    review
  5. org.apache.pdfbox — Maven Repositorymvnrepository.com
    news
  6. DigiPres Tools By functiondigipres.org
    news
  7. How to batch convert pdf files to text — Ken Benoitkenbenoit.net
    news
  8. How to check if a PDF is Password Protected — Stack Overflowstackoverflow.com
    review

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.