Comparison
paper-qa vs PDFMathTranslate
Verdict
Pick paper-qa if paperQA2 version 5 is a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system optimized for extracting information from scientific documents, enhancing user queries with citations; pick PDFMathTranslate if a specialized PDF translation tool for scientific papers that maintains original formatting, supporting multilingual translations via multiple services.
Markdown twin · paper-qa alternatives · PDFMathTranslate alternatives
GraphCanon updated 5d
vs
Trust & integrity
| Signal | paper-qa | PDFMathTranslate |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (5d since push) As of 5d · github_public_v1 | Steady (61d since push) As of 4w · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of 5d · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of 4w · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 1mo · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 1mo · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- paper-qa
- High accuracy RAG for answering questions from scientific documents with citations
- PDFMathTranslate
- PDF scientific paper translation with preserved formats
Stars
- paper-qa
- 9.0k
- PDFMathTranslate
- 36k
Forks
- paper-qa
- 907
- PDFMathTranslate
- 3.2k
Open issues
- paper-qa
- 141
- PDFMathTranslate
- 139
Language
- paper-qa
- Python
- PDFMathTranslate
- Python
Adopt for
- paper-qa
- PaperQA2 version 5 is a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system optimized for extracting information from scientific documents, enhancing user queries with citations.
- PDFMathTranslate
- A specialized PDF translation tool for scientific papers that maintains original formatting, supporting multilingual translations via multiple services.
Persona
- paper-qa
- -
- PDFMathTranslate
- -
Runtime
- paper-qa
- -
- PDFMathTranslate
- -
License
- paper-qa
- 'Apache-2.0' - Permissive free software license that allows for both non-commercial use and commercial exploitation of the package.
- PDFMathTranslate
- AGPL-3.0
Last pushed
- paper-qa
- Aug 12, 2026
- PDFMathTranslate
- May 25, 2026
Categories
- paper-qa
- Data & Retrieval, Model Training
- PDFMathTranslate
- Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools
Trust and health
Maintenance
- paper-qa
- Very active (96%)
- PDFMathTranslate
- Steady (60%)
Days since push
- paper-qa
- 5d
- PDFMathTranslate
- 61d
Open issues (now)
- paper-qa
- 141
- PDFMathTranslate
- 139
Stars delta
- paper-qa
- +154 (30d)
- PDFMathTranslate
- Unknown
Open issues delta
- paper-qa
- 0 (30d)
- PDFMathTranslate
- Unknown
Full report
- paper-qa
- Trust report
- PDFMathTranslate
- Trust report
Choose paper-qa if…
- License: paper-qa is Apache-2.0, PDFMathTranslate is AGPL-3.0.
- Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM.
- Tags unique to paper-qa: ai, rag, science, search.
- Also covers Model Training.
- Your project specifically requires processing and querying scientific documents, as PaperQA2 offers specialized capabilities tuned for this domain.
When NOT to use paper-qa
- If your use case does not involve scientific document processing, another RAG system better suited to your specific type of documents (e.g., legal, medical) might be more fitting.
- In scenarios where real-time performance is critical and extensive indexing or access to external APIs for large-scale paper handling becomes a bottleneck.
Choose PDFMathTranslate if…
- License: PDFMathTranslate is AGPL-3.0, paper-qa is Apache-2.0.
- Tags unique to PDFMathTranslate: chinese, document, edit, english.
- Also covers Developer Tools.
- PDFMathTranslate ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment.
- You need to translate scientific papers in PDF format while preserving complex mathematical notation and layout integrity.
When NOT to use PDFMathTranslate
- Your use case does not involve translating PDF documents with specific formatting preservation needs such as mathematical equations.
- You require a solution that exclusively uses one type of license, incompatible with AGPL-3.0 licensing.
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (Future-House/paper-qa) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- GitHub forks (Future-House/paper-qa) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- Last push (Future-House/paper-qa) · observed Aug 12, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 12, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub stars (PDFMathTranslate/PDFMathTranslate) · observed Jul 26, 2026
- GitHub forks (PDFMathTranslate/PDFMathTranslate) · observed Jul 26, 2026
- Last push (PDFMathTranslate/PDFMathTranslate) · observed May 25, 2026
- License file (AGPL-3.0) · observed Jul 26, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 16, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: paper-qa 9.0k · PDFMathTranslate 36k (synced Aug 18, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between paper-qa and PDFMathTranslate?
- paper-qa: High accuracy RAG for answering questions from scientific documents with citations. PDFMathTranslate: PDF scientific paper translation with preserved formats. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose paper-qa over PDFMathTranslate?
- Choose paper-qa over PDFMathTranslate when License: paper-qa is Apache-2.0, PDFMathTranslate is AGPL-3.0; Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Tags unique to paper-qa: ai, rag, science, search; Also covers Model Training; Your project specifically requires processing and querying scientific documents, as PaperQA2 offers specialized capabilities tuned for this domain.
- When should I choose PDFMathTranslate over paper-qa?
- Choose PDFMathTranslate over paper-qa when License: PDFMathTranslate is AGPL-3.0, paper-qa is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to PDFMathTranslate: chinese, document, edit, english; Also covers Developer Tools; PDFMathTranslate ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; You need to translate scientific papers in PDF format while preserving complex mathematical notation and layout integrity.
- When should I avoid paper-qa?
- If your use case does not involve scientific document processing, another RAG system better suited to your specific type of documents (e.g., legal, medical) might be more fitting. In scenarios where real-time performance is critical and extensive indexing or access to external APIs for large-scale paper handling becomes a bottleneck.
- When should I avoid PDFMathTranslate?
- Your use case does not involve translating PDF documents with specific formatting preservation needs such as mathematical equations. You require a solution that exclusively uses one type of license, incompatible with AGPL-3.0 licensing.
- Is paper-qa or PDFMathTranslate more popular on GitHub?
- PDFMathTranslate has more GitHub stars (35,794 vs 9,048). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are paper-qa and PDFMathTranslate open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (paper-qa: Apache-2.0, PDFMathTranslate: AGPL-3.0).
- Where can I find alternatives to paper-qa or PDFMathTranslate?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at paper-qa alternatives and PDFMathTranslate alternatives (paper-qa markdown twin, PDFMathTranslate markdown twin), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes.
- Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison?
- Yes. The markdown twin at this comparison mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, paper-qa or PDFMathTranslate?
- paper-qa: Very active. PDFMathTranslate: Steady. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance.
- Where are the full trust reports for paper-qa and PDFMathTranslate?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: paper-qa trust report; PDFMathTranslate trust report.