--- title: "moby vs PDFMathTranslate" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/moby-moby-vs-pdfmathtranslate-pdfmathtranslate" tools: ["moby-moby", "pdfmathtranslate-pdfmathtranslate"] --- # moby vs PDFMathTranslate *GraphCanon updated Jul 11, 2026* ## Verdict Pick moby when moby is primarily Go; PDFMathTranslate is Python; pick PDFMathTranslate when pDFMathTranslate is primarily Python; moby is Go. [moby](https://mobyproject.org/) reports 72k GitHub stars, 19k forks, and 3.8k open issues, last pushed Jul 10, 2026. [PDFMathTranslate](https://pdf2zh.com) has 36k stars, 3.2k forks, and 149 open issues, last pushed May 25, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [moby's repository](https://github.com/moby/moby) and [PDFMathTranslate's repository](https://github.com/PDFMathTranslate/PDFMathTranslate). | | [moby](/tools/moby-moby.md) | [PDFMathTranslate](/tools/pdfmathtranslate-pdfmathtranslate.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | The Moby Project - a collaborative project for the container ecosystem to assemble container-based systems | [EMNLP 2025 Demo] PDF scientific paper translation with preserved formats - 基于 AI 完整保留排版的 PDF 文档全文双语翻译，支持 Google/DeepL/Ollama/OpenAI 等服务，提供 CLI/GUI/MCP/Docker/Zotero | | Stars | 71,899 | 35,526 | | Forks | 19,126 | 3,171 | | Open issues | 3,821 | 149 | | Language | Go | Python | | Adopt for | - | - | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 | | Categories | Developer Tools, Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | Developer Tools, Inference & Serving | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [moby](/tools/moby-moby.md) | [PDFMathTranslate](/tools/pdfmathtranslate-pdfmathtranslate.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Steady (60%) | | Days since push | 1d | 46d | | Open issues (now) | 3.8k | 149 | | Security scan | No criticals | No MCP manifest | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/moby-moby/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/pdfmathtranslate-pdfmathtranslate/trust.md) | ## Choose when ### Choose moby if… - moby is primarily Go; PDFMathTranslate is Python. - License: moby is Apache-2.0, PDFMathTranslate is AGPL-3.0. - Tags unique to moby: containers, docker, go, golang. - Also covers LLM Frameworks. - moby ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ### Choose PDFMathTranslate if… - PDFMathTranslate is primarily Python; moby is Go. - License: PDFMathTranslate is AGPL-3.0, moby is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to PDFMathTranslate: chinese, document, edit, english. ## When NOT to use moby - Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ## When NOT to use PDFMathTranslate - Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between moby and PDFMathTranslate? moby: The Moby Project - a collaborative project for the container ecosystem to assemble container-based systems. PDFMathTranslate: [EMNLP 2025 Demo] PDF scientific paper translation with preserved formats - 基于 AI 完整保留排版的 PDF 文档全文双语翻译，支持 Google/DeepL/Ollama/OpenAI 等服务，提供 CLI/GUI/MCP/Docker/Zotero. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose moby over PDFMathTranslate? Choose moby over PDFMathTranslate when moby is primarily Go; PDFMathTranslate is Python; License: moby is Apache-2.0, PDFMathTranslate is AGPL-3.0; Tags unique to moby: containers, docker, go, golang; Also covers LLM Frameworks; moby ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ### When should I choose PDFMathTranslate over moby? Choose PDFMathTranslate over moby when PDFMathTranslate is primarily Python; moby is Go; License: PDFMathTranslate is AGPL-3.0, moby is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to PDFMathTranslate: chinese, document, edit, english. ### When should I avoid moby? Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ### When should I avoid PDFMathTranslate? Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ### Is moby or PDFMathTranslate more popular on GitHub? moby has more GitHub stars (71,899 vs 35,526). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are moby and PDFMathTranslate open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (moby: Apache-2.0, PDFMathTranslate: AGPL-3.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to moby or PDFMathTranslate? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [moby alternatives](/tools/moby-moby/alternatives) and [PDFMathTranslate alternatives](/tools/pdfmathtranslate-pdfmathtranslate/alternatives) ([moby markdown twin](/tools/moby-moby/alternatives.md), [PDFMathTranslate markdown twin](/tools/pdfmathtranslate-pdfmathtranslate/alternatives.md)), 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](/compare/moby-moby-vs-pdfmathtranslate-pdfmathtranslate.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, moby or PDFMathTranslate? moby: 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 moby and PDFMathTranslate? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [moby trust report](/tools/moby-moby/trust); [PDFMathTranslate trust report](/tools/pdfmathtranslate-pdfmathtranslate/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=moby-moby`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=moby-moby) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_