Aleph vs Signature PDF
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
Signature PDF
Sign and manipulate PDFs with collaboration, organization, compression
| Feature | Aleph | Signature PDF |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 818 |
| First released | 2016 | 2025 |
| 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 Signature PDF if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Aleph or Signature PDF better?
Neither is universally better. Aleph has the larger community, while Signature PDF is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Aleph and Signature PDF free and open-source?
Yes. Aleph is licensed under MIT and Signature PDF under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Aleph and Signature PDF with Docker?
Aleph: yes. Signature PDF: yes.