head to head · open source
Paperless-ngx vs Spinifex
Paperless-ngx has 47,590 GitHub stars, 3,330 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Spinifex has 408 stars, 27 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Paperless-ngx leads on adoption by 11,564% (47,590 vs 408 stars). Paperless-ngx is written in Python under GPL-3.0; Spinifex is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. Paperless-ngx has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Spinifex 7%. Spinifex 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 | Spinifex | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 408 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 27 |
| 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 Spinifex if
- You want the Spinifex 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 Spinifex 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 Spinifex
What is Spinifex? · Platform · Deploy · AWS Compatibility · Live Demo · Components · Architecture · Installation · Docs Spinifex: the open, AWS compatible cloud you run yourself Spinifex, built by Mulga, recreates the AWS services your software already uses (EC2, EBS, S3, VPC, IAM) on infrastructure you control. Move workloads off the hyperscalers, run AI at a fraction of the cost, or take the cloud to the edge, without rewriting a line. The exact build you ship to AWS, Spinifex serves on your own hardware: same APIs, same Terraform, same SDKs. What is Spinifex? Spinifex is an open source infrastructure platform…
read the full Spinifex overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Paperless-ngx or Spinifex more popular?
Paperless-ngx has 47,590 GitHub stars and Spinifex has 408. Paperless-ngx has the larger community by that measure.
Are Paperless-ngx and Spinifex free?
Both are open source. Paperless-ngx is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Spinifex under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Paperless-ngx and Spinifex?
Paperless-ngx is written in Python and Spinifex 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 Spinifex?
Choose Paperless-ngx if you want the larger community (47,590 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Spinifex if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.