head to head · open source
OpenSign vs docspell
OpenSign has 7,254 GitHub stars, 856 forks, 148 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. docspell has 2,351 stars, 186 forks, 235 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. OpenSign leads on adoption by 209% (7,254 vs 2,351 stars). OpenSign is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; docspell is written in Elm under AGPL-3.0. OpenSign has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, docspell 8%. docspell was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| OpenSign | docspell | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.3K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Elm |
| Last push | 2026-11-10 | 2026-11-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 856 | ⑂ 186 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenSign if
- You weight community size — 7.3K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick docspell if
- You want the docspell feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Elm
- You evaluated both and docspell fits your workflow better
About OpenSign
The free and open source alternative to DocuSign Website • Help Docs • API Docs • Blog • Discord • Twitter • LinkedIn The premier open source document signing solution(DocuSign alternative) Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Features 3. Installation 4. Usage 5. Contribution Guidelines 6. License 7. Acknowledgments Please star ⭐ the repo to support us! 😀 Introduction Welcome to OpenSign, the premier open source docusign alternative document e signing solution designed to provide a secure, reliable and free alternative to commercial esign platforms like DocuSign, PandaDoc, SignNow, Adobe Sign, Smartwaiver…
read the full OpenSign overview →
About docspell
Docspell Document Management System (DMS) Docspell is a personal document organizer. Or sometimes called a "Document Management System" (DMS). You'll need a scanner to convert your papers into files. Docspell can then assist in organizing the resulting mess :wink:. It can unify your files from scanners, emails and other sources. It is targeted for home use, i.e. families, households and also for smaller groups/companies. You can associate tags, set correspondends and lots of other predefined and custom metadata. If your documents are associated with such meta data, you can quickly find them later using the…
read the full docspell overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenSign or docspell more popular?
OpenSign has 7,254 GitHub stars and docspell has 2,351. OpenSign has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenSign and docspell free?
Both are open source. OpenSign has no licence declared in this registry, and docspell is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenSign and docspell?
OpenSign is written in JavaScript and docspell in Elm. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenSign or docspell?
Choose OpenSign if you want the larger community (7,254 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose docspell if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.