head to head · open source
Paperless-ngx vs docspell
Paperless-ngx has 47,590 GitHub stars, 3,330 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. docspell has 2,343 stars, 186 forks, 235 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. Paperless-ngx leads on adoption by 1,931% (47,590 vs 2,343 stars). Paperless-ngx is written in Python under GPL-3.0; docspell is written in Elm under AGPL-3.0. Paperless-ngx has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, docspell 8%. Paperless-ngx was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 5 topic tags (dms, document-management, document-management-system, ocr), 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
| Paperless-ngx | docspell | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Elm |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 186 |
| 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 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 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 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 Paperless-ngx or docspell more popular?
Paperless-ngx has 47,590 GitHub stars and docspell has 2,343. Paperless-ngx has the larger community by that measure.
Are Paperless-ngx and docspell free?
Both are open source. Paperless-ngx is licensed under GPL-3.0 and docspell under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Paperless-ngx and docspell?
Paperless-ngx is written in Python 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, Paperless-ngx or docspell?
Choose Paperless-ngx if you want the larger community (47,590 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose docspell if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.