head to head · open source
Papermark vs papermerge-core
Papermark has 9,181 GitHub stars, 1,396 forks, 239 open issues and last shipped 21 days ago. papermerge-core has 539 stars, 110 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. Papermark leads on adoption by 1,603% (9,181 vs 539 stars). Papermark is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; papermerge-core is written in Python under Apache-2.0. Papermark has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, papermerge-core 20%. papermerge-core 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.
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Side by side
| Papermark | papermerge-core | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.2K | ★ 539 |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-08-28 | 2026-09-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 110 |
| 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 papermerge-core if
- You want the papermerge-core feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and papermerge-core 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 papermerge-core
Papermerge DMS (papermerge core) is the open source core of Papermerge, a document management system in Python that OCRs scanned documents, indexes them, and makes them searchable for anyone who needs a long term digital archive rather than a folder full of loose files.
read the full papermerge-core overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Papermark or papermerge-core more popular?
Papermark has 9,181 GitHub stars and papermerge-core has 539. Papermark has the larger community by that measure.
Are Papermark and papermerge-core free?
Both are open source. Papermark has no licence declared in this registry, and papermerge-core is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Papermark and papermerge-core?
Papermark is written in TypeScript and papermerge-core in Python. 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 papermerge-core?
Choose Papermark if you want the larger community (9,181 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose papermerge-core if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.