head to head · open source
Paperless-ngx vs Spinifex
Paperless-ngx has 45,255 GitHub stars, 3,121 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Spinifex has 179 stars, 10 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Paperless-ngx leads on adoption by 25,182% (45,255 vs 179 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 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 | Spinifex | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 179 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 10 |
| 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 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 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 Spinifex
Spinifex is an open source, AGPL 3.0 infrastructure platform built by Mulga that recreates the AWS service surface — EC2, EBS, S3, VPC, IAM, ALB/NLB, EKS, ECR, ECS, and RDS — on bare metal, on premises hardware, and edge sites, for teams that need AWS APIs and tooling but cannot or will not run in a hyperscaler cloud.
read the full Spinifex overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Paperless-ngx or Spinifex more popular?
Paperless-ngx has 45,255 GitHub stars and Spinifex has 179. 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 (45,255 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.