Aleph vs Papermerge
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
Papermerge
Document management system for scanned documents
| Feature | Aleph | Papermerge |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,412 | ★ 521 |
| First released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Replaces | DocuWare, Relativity | Evernote, DEVONthink |
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
Frequently asked questions
Is Aleph or Papermerge better?
Neither is universally better. Aleph has the larger community, while Papermerge is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Aleph and Papermerge free and open-source?
Yes. Aleph is licensed under MIT and Papermerge under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Aleph and Papermerge with Docker?
Aleph: yes. Papermerge: yes.