head to head · open source
Docuseal vs docspell
Docuseal has 18,558 GitHub stars, 1,867 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. docspell has 2,329 stars, 184 forks, 235 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Docuseal leads on adoption by 697% (18,558 vs 2,329 stars). Docuseal is written in Ruby under AGPL-3.0; docspell is written in Elm under AGPL-3.0. Docuseal has attracted 10% 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. The two share 1 topic tag (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.
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Side by side
| Docuseal | docspell | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Ruby | Elm |
| Last push | 2026-09-14 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 184 |
| 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 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 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 docspell
Docspell is a self hosted document management system that helps households, families, and small groups or companies organise the piles of paper, scans, and e mails that accumulate from scanners and other sources, using machine learning and OCR to cut down the manual effort of adding metadata.
read the full docspell overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docuseal or docspell more popular?
Docuseal has 18,558 GitHub stars and docspell has 2,329. Docuseal has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docuseal and docspell free?
Both are open source. Docuseal is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and docspell under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docuseal and docspell?
Docuseal is written in Ruby 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, Docuseal or docspell?
Choose Docuseal if you want the larger community (18,558 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose docspell if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.