head to head · open source
Paperless-ngx vs Filestash
Paperless-ngx has 45,255 GitHub stars, 3,121 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Filestash has 14,690 stars, 1,004 forks, 126 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Paperless-ngx leads on adoption by 208% (45,255 vs 14,690 stars). Paperless-ngx is written in Python under GPL-3.0; Filestash is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. Paperless-ngx has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Filestash 7%. Paperless-ngx was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (archiving, dms), 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 | Filestash | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 15K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Paperless-ngx if
- You weight community size — 45K 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 Filestash if
- You want the Filestash feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Filestash fits your workflow better
About Paperless-ngx
Paperless ngx is a community supported, GPL 3.0 licensed document management system written in Python that turns physical paperwork into a searchable, indexed online archive, and it is built for individuals, homelab operators and small teams who want to scan, index and archive their documents on infrastructure they control.
read the full Paperless-ngx overview →
About Filestash
Filestash is a Go, AGPL 3.0 licensed universal file storage client for enterprise storage. It lives in Infrastructure & Operations / Storage Solutions. It began as a storage agnostic Dropbox like file manager that speaks FTP, SFTP, S3, SMB, WebDAV, IPFS, and about 20 more protocols. It has three products: a browser based web client, native clients for macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and iPhone, and gateways for exposing storage over protocols.
read the full Filestash overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Paperless-ngx or Filestash more popular?
Paperless-ngx has 45,255 GitHub stars and Filestash has 14,690. Paperless-ngx has the larger community by that measure.
Are Paperless-ngx and Filestash free?
Both are open source. Paperless-ngx is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Filestash under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Paperless-ngx and Filestash?
Paperless-ngx is written in Python and Filestash in Go. 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 Filestash?
Choose Paperless-ngx if you want the larger community (45,255 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Filestash if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.