Compare deployment options and use cases for Nutrient document solutions
Formerly known as Web Standalone, the Web SDK is designed for 100 percent client-side document viewing and editing, with all processing performed entirely in the browser. It operates independently, without requiring a backend server or integration with Document Engine.
The Web SDK is ideal for lightweight document workflows that don’t demand backend processing or real-time collaboration. Typical use cases include viewing, annotating, and editing small-to-medium-sized documents directly in the browser, making it a cost-effective solution for environments with limited infrastructure or simpler document processing needs.
Use cases
Ideal for straightforward workflows that don’t demand rapid document opening and rendering (suitable for documents of ordinary size), that lack the need for backend bulk processing and real-time collaboration, and where there’s limited expertise and budget for managing server infrastructure.
Examples
- A small sales office seeking to enable its sales representatives to work on few-page PDF invoices, allowing them to edit form fields and send them for signatures.
- A medical office aiming to implement online patient intake forms, making them accessible for patients to fill out directly from their browsers.
Deployment
100 percent frontend: Can be added with npm install, and it then loads, renders, and saves PDFs — all in the browser using WebAssembly.
Capability comparison
| Capability | Document Engine | Web SDK + Document Engine | Web SDK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client-side user interface | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Server-side processing | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Significantly reduced client-side processing load | N/A | ✅ | ❌ |
| High-performance PDF processing for documents with large file sizes | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Fastest document rendering (document streaming support) | N/A | ✅ | ❌ |
| Backend processing for PDFs (including OCR, redactions, data extraction) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Backend PDF generation, editing, conversion, and processing | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Real-time collaboration on documents | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Permission-based document management and sharing | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
Component comparison
| Component | Document Engine | Web SDK + Document Engine | Web SDK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document Engine Connector | ❌ | ✅ (Web SDK) | ❌ |
| Viewer | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form Viewing and Filling | N/A | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form Filling API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Annotations | N/A | ✅ | ✅ |
| Annotations API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Electronic Signatures | N/A | ✅ | ✅ |
| Electronic Signing API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Digital Signatures | N/A | ✅ | ✅ |
| Digital Signing API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Document Editor | N/A | ✅ | ✅ |
| Document Editor API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Content Editor | N/A | ✅ | ✅ |
| Instant Collaboration | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Comments and Replies | N/A | ✅ | ✅ |
| Comments API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Form Creator | N/A | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form Creator API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Redaction | N/A | ✅ | ✅ |
| Redaction API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| OCR | N/A | ✅ | N/A |
| OCR API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Data Extraction API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Measurement Tools | N/A | ✅ Note: Measurement snapping is a Measurement Tools UI feature. It’s available only in Nutrient Web SDK standalone mode. For more information, refer to the configure measurements guide. | ✅ |
| Measurements API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Compression | N/A | ✅ | ❌ |
| Compression API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Linearization | N/A | ✅ | ❌ |
| Linearization API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| PDF/A | N/A | ✅ | ✅ |
| PDF/A API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| HTML-to-PDF Conversion | N/A | ✅ | ❌ |
| HTML Conversion API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Office Conversion (via .NET SDK) | N/A | ❌ | ✅ Note: Office Templating for Web SDK is covered by the Office Conversion (via .NET SDK) license. However, in Document Engine, Office Templating is implemented using a separate component (Office Templating API). |
| Office Conversion API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Office Templating API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |
| Image-to-PDF Conversion | N/A | ✅ | ✅ |
| Image Conversion API | ✅ | ✅ | N/A |