head to head · open source
Docuseal vs Documenso
Docuseal has 18,558 GitHub stars, 1,867 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Documenso has 15,062 stars, 3,225 forks, 238 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Docuseal leads on adoption by 23% (18,558 vs 15,062 stars). Docuseal is written in Ruby under AGPL-3.0; Documenso is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Docuseal has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Documenso 21%. Documenso was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 5 topic tags (document-signing, e-signature, open-source, pdf), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Docuseal | Documenso | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 15K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Ruby | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-14 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 3.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docuseal if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Documenso if
- You want the Documenso feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Documenso fits your workflow better
About Docuseal
Docuseal is an open source document filling and signing platform for individuals and teams, and its repository describes it as an open source alternative to DocuSign. It is built in Ruby on Rails and uses a self hosted deployment model, with interface components associated with Tailwind CSS, Vue, and Hotwire Turbo.
read the full Docuseal overview →
About Documenso
Documenso is open source document signing software. It lives in business software ecosystem, specifically document management and e signatures. Project calls itself open source DocuSign alternative. It provides digital signing for PDF documents. It is written in TypeScript. It is licensed under AGPL 3.0. Repository shows 15014 stars, 3207 forks, 238 open issues, last push 2026 09 14.
read the full Documenso overview →
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More Document Management & E-Signatures projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Document Management & E-Signatures field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Docuseal or Documenso more popular?
Docuseal has 18,558 GitHub stars and Documenso has 15,062. Docuseal has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docuseal and Documenso free?
Both are open source. Docuseal is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Documenso under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docuseal and Documenso?
Docuseal is written in Ruby and Documenso in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Docuseal or Documenso?
Choose Docuseal if you want the larger community (18,558 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Documenso if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.