Comparison
gopdfrab vs Apache PDFBox Preflight
Two PDF/A-1b validators with the same scope and very different cost per file.
Both tools validate PDF/A-1b and nothing beyond it, which makes this the closest like-for-like comparison on the site. Preflight is the right choice inside an existing Java codebase, particularly one already using PDFBox, and its Apache 2.0 license carries no copyleft obligation. gopdfrab is the faster of the two on every measurement below, and it deploys as one binary.
Side by side
| gopdfrab | PDFBox Preflight | |
|---|---|---|
| PDF/A-1b validation | Yes, passing Isartor and the veraPDF corpus in full | Yes |
| PDF/A-2, -3, -4 | Planned, not implemented | No |
| PDF to PDF/A conversion | Yes, with re-verification | No |
| Runtime | None, a static binary | JVM |
| Deployment size | 12.3 MB, nothing else | 11.7 MB jar, plus a JRE |
| Startup | 7.9 ms | 102 ms |
| Batch throughput | 2,939 files/sec | 155 files/sec |
| Cold single file | 9.5 ms | 295 ms |
| Peak memory | 80 MB | 945 MB |
| Broader PDF manipulation | No, validation and conversion only | Yes, via PDFBox |
| License | AGPL 3.0 or commercial | Apache 2.0 |
Frequently asked questions
See the numbers in full
Every figure here comes from one run of the benchmark harness over the same corpus.