head to head
Google Docs vs CryptPad
CryptPad is the open source alternative to Google Docs — collaborative documents and word processing. Here is the honest comparison.
Yes — CryptPad is a viable free replacement for Google Docs. CryptPad is open source under AGPL-3.0, written in JavaScript, with 7,920 GitHub stars, 849 forks and 401 open issues; it was last pushed 7 hours ago. Google Docs costs from $6, while self-hosting CryptPad carries no licence fee — the trade is your operational time instead of a subscription. 0 other open source Google Docs alternatives are tracked here. Replacement criteria on this page: 4 reasons to move to CryptPad and 3 reasons to stay on Google Docs.
choose CryptPad if
- Your Google Docs bill is growing with seats or usage
- You need your data in a format and server you control
- Your compliance posture requires auditing the code that touches sensitive data
- You have (or can rent) a server and basic Docker comfort
stick with Google Docs if
- You need the polished onboarding and support SLAs of a commercial vendor
- Your team has zero capacity to operate software, even self-hosted-simple
- You depend on a Google Docs integration ecosystem that the OSS alternatives have not replicated
Side by side
| CryptPad (open source) | Google Docs | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (self-hosted) | Free / Workspace $6-18/user/month |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Proprietary |
| Source code | Public, auditable | Closed |
| Self-hosting | Yes — cryptpad/cryptpad | Cloud only |
| Data ownership | Your server, your format | Vendor's cloud |
| Community | ★ 7.9K · ⑂ 849 | — |
| Built with | JavaScript | — |
Why people look for a Google Docs alternative
About CryptPad
CryptPad is an open source collaboration suite built around end to end encryption, written in JavaScript and released under the AGPL 3.0. It lives in the JavaScript and real time collaboration ecosystem, using ChainPad to synchronize changes to documents in real time. The suite covers documents, sheets, presentations, forms, kanban boards, code, rich text, and whiteboards, all reachable from a single CryptDrive, and it is positioned as an open alternative to Google Docs.
read the full CryptPad overview →
last updated nightly · ranking method: github stars, live-tracked
Frequently asked questions
Is CryptPad a good replacement for Google Docs?
CryptPad is an open source alternative to Google Docs (Collaborative documents and word processing). It is written in JavaScript and licensed under AGPL-3.0, with 7,920 GitHub stars.
Is CryptPad free compared to Google Docs?
Yes. CryptPad is open source — there is no licence fee, and you can self-host it. Google Docs is typically a paid subscription, so the trade-off is licence cost against the operational work of running it yourself.
How do I migrate from Google Docs to CryptPad?
Migration effort depends on the data formats involved. Check CryptPad's documentation for import options, and compare the feature table above to confirm the capabilities you depend on are covered before switching.