Aleph vs BentoPDF
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted document management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Aleph
Search and document management for investigative work
VS
BentoPDF
Powerful, privacy-first, client-side PDF toolkit that allows you to
| Feature | Aleph | BentoPDF |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,412 | ★ 14,551 |
| First released | 2016 | 2026 |
| Replaces | DocuWare, Relativity | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Aleph if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Choose BentoPDF if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 14.6k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Aleph or BentoPDF better?
BentoPDF is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Aleph if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Aleph and BentoPDF free and open-source?
Yes. Aleph is licensed under MIT and BentoPDF under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Aleph and BentoPDF with Docker?
Aleph: yes. BentoPDF: yes.