Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Docspell VS Paperless-NG

Compare Docspell VS Paperless-NG and see what are their differences

Docspell logo Docspell

Assist in organizing your piles of documents, resulting from scanners, e-mails and other sources with miminal effort.

Paperless-NG logo Paperless-NG

A supercharged version of paperless: scan, index and archive all your physical documents - jonaswinkler/paperless-ng
  • Docspell Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-29
  • Paperless-NG Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-22

Docspell features and specs

  • Open Source
    Docspell is an open-source solution, allowing users to inspect, modify, and contribute to its code, fostering transparency and community-driven development.
  • Self-Hosting
    Users have the option to self-host Docspell, giving them complete control over their data and privacy without relying on third-party servers.
  • Automated Document Management
    Docspell provides automated processes for sorting and categorizing documents, which can save users time and reduce manual effort.
  • Versatile Integration
    Docspell integrates with various systems and applications, allowing seamless inclusion in existing workflows and making it highly adaptable.
  • Community Support
    Being open-source and community-driven, users often receive support and can contribute to developments and enhancements.

Possible disadvantages of Docspell

  • Technical Setup
    Self-hosting Docspell may require significant technical knowledge, potentially challenging for users without a background in server management.
  • Limited Support
    As a community-driven project, professional support may not be as robust or immediately available as some commercial alternatives.
  • Resource Intensive
    Self-hosting might necessitate significant server resources, which could be a barrier for small organizations or individual users with limited hardware.
  • User Interface Complexity
    New users might find the interface complex or less intuitive compared to mainstream document management systems, requiring a learning curve.
  • No Built-in Cloud Option
    Docspell does not provide a built-in cloud hosting option, necessitating users to either self-host or find an alternative cloud hosting solution.

Paperless-NG features and specs

  • Enhanced Organization
    Paperless-NG allows users to easily organize and categorize their documents, making it easier to access and manage information efficiently.
  • Searchability
    The application provides strong search capabilities, enabling users to find documents quickly using keywords and metadata.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, Paperless-NG offers transparency and flexibility for customization, allowing users to modify the software according to their needs.
  • Cost-Effective
    Being open-source, users can use and deploy it without licensing fees, reducing the cost compared to proprietary solutions.
  • Extensive Support for Document Types
    The software supports various document formats, allowing users to store and manage diverse types of documents together.

Possible disadvantages of Paperless-NG

  • Complex Initial Setup
    Setting up Paperless-NG can be complex, requiring technical knowledge, which might be challenging for non-technical users.
  • Limited Official Support
    Being an open-source project, official support is limited to community forums and contributions, which might not be sufficient for users seeking dedicated support.
  • Maintenance Responsibility
    Users are responsible for maintaining and updating the system, which requires time and effort, especially for those without technical expertise.
  • Potential for Bugs
    As with many open-source projects, there might be unfixed bugs or glitches that require users to troubleshoot on their own or wait for community resolutions.
  • Limited Scaling Features
    Paperless-NG might not be suitable for very large enterprises with complex document management needs, as it may lack advanced features found in robust enterprise solutions.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Docspell and Paperless-NG)
Note Taking
43 43%
57% 57
Project Management
36 36%
64% 64
File Manager
60 60%
40% 40
Task Management
35 35%
65% 65

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Paperless-NG should be more popular than Docspell. It has been mentiond 46 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Docspell mentions (14)

  • Organize : file management automation tool
    Check https://docspell.org it is pretty good, if u don’t mind keeping your docs in a db. Source: over 1 year ago
  • paperless-ngx alternatives?
    Docspell had some votes in this comment from a few days ago. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Self hosted document management
    Https://docspell.org/ less popular than paperless ngx and with less polished UI but better features for my use cases (folders, audio transcription, email imports ). Source: about 2 years ago
  • Please help installing docspell in Docker
    Now I want docspell have installed in docker on my DS918+ (DSM 7.1 and latest Docker). Source: over 2 years ago
  • Is anyone using Docspell (a paperless-ngx alternative) on Unraid?
    I am trying to get Docspell working on Unraid since I prefer it over paperless-ngx in terms of functions and usability. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

Paperless-NG mentions (46)

  • 🔍Underrated Open Source Projects You Should Know About 🧠
    Paperless-ngx is the successor to the original Paperless & Paperless-ng projects, both of which are now in public archive. The original projects are not dead, but rather, continued through the open source community! - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Property Managers: We are having to manually enter 800 invoices a month - Is there a better way?
    How good is your IT department? Https://github.com/jonaswinkler/paperless-ng. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Need To Store Tax & Tax Related Documents. Suggestions Given The IRS Guidance?
    Paperless-ng / paperless-ngx has been nice for storing PDFs. I'll probably throw this year's documents into that as well. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: What have you built more than twice and wish someone had built for you?
    A SaaS for managing personal documents. The closest I have right now (not SaaS) is paperless-ng[0], but I have to self-host it, unless I missed a really compelling solution. I have a sea of documents, both physical and electronic, and it's always a struggle to scan/organize/find them. I'd pay good money for a software/service that manages my documents, from scanning to archiving. [0] - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Best (simple) tool for personal Wiki
    If it's a PDF manual then I prefer paperless-ng or paperless-ngx. Then it's searchable and you can filter by 'correspondent' which I normally put down as the manufacturer, label is as a technical manual, etc. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Docspell and Paperless-NG, you can also consider the following products

Papermerge DMS - Open source document management system designed for archiving and retrieving your digital documents. Instead of having piles of paper documents all over your desk, office or drawers - you can quickly scan and upload them to Papermerge DMS.

Mayan EDMS - Document management without the headaches.

TagSpaces - TagSpaces is an open source platform for personal data management. With TagSpaces you can manage and organize the files on your laptop, tablet or smart phone.

OpenKM - OpenKM is an easy to use powerful version control system that enables businesses efficiently and systematically capture, store, secure, manage, maintain and distribute corporate information assets with the goal of facilitating knowledge creation, op…

Paperless-ngx - paperless-ngx has 6 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.

SeedDMS - SeedDMS is an open source document management system based on PHP and MySQL.