head to head · open source
Paperless-ngx vs Alarik
Paperless-ngx has 47,590 GitHub stars, 3,330 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Alarik has 578 stars, 8 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Paperless-ngx leads on adoption by 8,134% (47,590 vs 578 stars). Paperless-ngx is written in Python under GPL-3.0; Alarik is written in Swift under Apache-2.0. Paperless-ngx has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Alarik 1%. Paperless-ngx 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
| Paperless-ngx | Alarik | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 578 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 8 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Paperless-ngx if
- You weight community size — 48K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Alarik if
- You want the Alarik feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and Alarik fits your workflow better
About Paperless-ngx
Paperless ngx Paperless ngx is a document management system that transforms your physical documents into a searchable online archive so you can keep, well, less paper . Paperless ngx is the official successor to the original Paperless & Paperless ng projects and is designed to distribute the responsibility of advancing and supporting the project among a team of people. Consider joining us! Thanks to the generous folks at DigitalOcean, a demo is available at demo.paperless ngx.com using login demo / demo . Note: demo content is reset frequently and confidential information should not be uploaded. Features Getting…
read the full Paperless-ngx overview →
About Alarik
Alarik a High Performance S3 Compatible Object Storage Alarik is a high performance, S3 compatible object storage system written in Swift , licensed under the Apache 2.0 license. It aims to deliver exceptional speed, developer friendly ergonomics, and a modern cloud native core. See Documentation Why Alarik? Recent shifts in the ecosystem especially surrounding MinIO have revealed how fragile it is to depend on a single “reference” implementation for S3 compatible storage. These changes highlighted structural, licensing, and philosophical issues that many teams had long overlooked. Alarik exists to provide a…
read the full Alarik overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Paperless-ngx or Alarik more popular?
Paperless-ngx has 47,590 GitHub stars and Alarik has 578. Paperless-ngx has the larger community by that measure.
Are Paperless-ngx and Alarik free?
Both are open source. Paperless-ngx is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Alarik under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Paperless-ngx and Alarik?
Paperless-ngx is written in Python and Alarik in Swift. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Paperless-ngx or Alarik?
Choose Paperless-ngx if you want the larger community (47,590 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Alarik if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.