head to head · open source
Papermark vs docspell
Papermark has 9,181 GitHub stars, 1,396 forks, 239 open issues and last shipped 21 days ago. docspell has 2,329 stars, 184 forks, 235 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Papermark leads on adoption by 294% (9,181 vs 2,329 stars). Papermark is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; docspell is written in Elm under AGPL-3.0. Papermark has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, docspell 8%. docspell was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (pdf), 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Papermark | docspell | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.2K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Elm |
| Last push | 2026-08-28 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 184 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Papermark if
- You weight community size — 9.2K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- 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 Papermark
Papermark open source document sharing alternative to DocSend. Project lives in Next.js/TypeScript web stack, category Business Software / Document Management & E Signatures. GitHub metadata: 9166 stars, 1392 forks, 239 open issues, last push 2026 08 28T15:58:25Z. README says built in analytics and custom domains. It is self hosted, open source, and customizable as needed. License field says NOASSERTION, so license terms need separate check.
read the full Papermark overview →
About docspell
Docspell is a self hosted document management system that helps households, families, and small groups or companies organise the piles of paper, scans, and e mails that accumulate from scanners and other sources, using machine learning and OCR to cut down the manual effort of adding metadata.
read the full docspell overview →
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More Document Management & E-Signatures projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Document Management & E-Signatures field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Papermark or docspell more popular?
Papermark has 9,181 GitHub stars and docspell has 2,329. Papermark has the larger community by that measure.
Are Papermark and docspell free?
Both are open source. Papermark has no licence declared in this registry, and docspell is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Papermark and docspell?
Papermark is written in TypeScript 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, Papermark or docspell?
Choose Papermark if you want the larger community (9,181 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose docspell if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.