head to head · open source
Paperless-ngx vs Papra
Paperless-ngx has 47,590 GitHub stars, 3,330 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Papra has 5,695 stars, 327 forks, 190 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Paperless-ngx leads on adoption by 736% (47,590 vs 5,695 stars). Paperless-ngx is written in Python under GPL-3.0; Papra is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Paperless-ngx has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Papra 6%. 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 | Papra | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 5.7K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 327 |
| 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 Papra if
- You want the Papra 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 Papra 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 Papra
Papra Document management platform Minimalistic document management and archiving platform. Demo • Docs • Self hosting • Roadmap • Discord Introduction Papra is a minimalistic document management and archiving platform. It is designed to be simple to use and accessible to everyone. Papra is a platform for long term document storage and management, like a digital archive for your documents. Forget about that receipt of that gift you bought for your friend last year, or that warranty for your new phone. With Papra, you can easily store, forget, and retrieve your documents whenever you need them. A live demo of the…
read the full Papra overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Paperless-ngx or Papra more popular?
Paperless-ngx has 47,590 GitHub stars and Papra has 5,695. Paperless-ngx has the larger community by that measure.
Are Paperless-ngx and Papra free?
Both are open source. Paperless-ngx is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Papra under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Paperless-ngx and Papra?
Paperless-ngx is written in Python and Papra 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, Paperless-ngx or Papra?
Choose Paperless-ngx if you want the larger community (47,590 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Papra if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.