PhotoPrism
Focus: photo library, face recognition and backup. Shares self-hosted and open source with Paperless-ngx. Rated 4.6 (Paperless-ngx: 4.7).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.6Visit
Web App
Paperless-ngx
A self-hosted document manager that scans, reads and files your paperwork.
Rating
4.7 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Advanced
Works on
Web, Linux, Cross-Platform
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is Paperless-ngx?
Paperless-ngx is a free, open-source document management system that turns scanned paper and PDFs into a searchable online archive. It runs OCR on every file, learns to apply tags, correspondents and document types automatically, and keeps everything on a server you host yourself, such as a home server or NAS.
Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.
Pros: what Paperless-ngx does well
- Full-text search across scanned papers
- Automatic tagging that learns
- Documents stay on your own server
Cons: where it falls short
- Needs Docker or a server to set up
- No official hosted version
Who Paperless-ngx is for
People who want to go paperless and keep bills, receipts and letters in a private archive.
Who can skip it
Anyone who would rather not run and maintain a self-hosted app.
Paperless-ngx alternatives
Not sold on Paperless-ngx? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
Homebox
Focus: home inventory and organisation. Shares self-hosted and open source with Paperless-ngx. Rated 4.5 (Paperless-ngx: 4.7).
Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.5Visit
Photoview
Focus: photos, gallery and media. Shares self-hosted and open source with Paperless-ngx. Rated 4.4 (Paperless-ngx: 4.7).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.4Visit
Ente
Focus: encrypted photos, 2fa and cloud storage. Shares open source and github with Paperless-ngx. Freemium (Paperless-ngx: Free). Adds iOS, Android and macOS. Same 4.7 rating.
Web AppFree planWeb, iOS
4.7Visit
Immich
Focus: photo backup and photo library. Shares self-hosted and open source with Paperless-ngx. Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.8 (Paperless-ngx: 4.7).
Web AppFreeWeb, iOS
4.8Visit
fd
Focus: file search, command line and developer tool. Shares open source and github with Paperless-ngx. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds macOS, Windows and Offline. Same 4.7 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
Free alternatives to Paperless-ngx
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
Firefly III
Focus: personal finance, budgeting and expenses. Shares self-hosted and open source with Paperless-ngx. Same 4.7 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb
4.7Visit
Jellyfin
Focus: media server, streaming and home server. Shares self-hosted and open source with Paperless-ngx. Same 4.7 rating.
Web AppFreeCross-Platform
4.7Visit
Navidrome
Focus: music, streaming and audio. Shares self-hosted and open source with Paperless-ngx. Adds macOS and Windows. Same 4.7 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb, macOS
4.7Visit
restic
Focus: backup, encryption and snapshots. Shares open source and github with Paperless-ngx. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds macOS and Windows. Same 4.7 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
Vaultwarden
Focus: password manager, bitwarden and security. Shares self-hosted and open source with Paperless-ngx. Same 4.7 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb
4.7Visit
BorgBackup
Focus: backup, encryption and deduplication. Shares open source and github with Paperless-ngx. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds macOS and Windows. Rated 4.6 (Paperless-ngx: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
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