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ecoDMS vs Mayan EDMS

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?
EC ecoDMS Document archiving and management with OCR VS Mayan EDMS Free electronic document management with workflows
FeatureecoDMSMayan EDMS
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
CategoryDocument ManagementDocument Management
LicenseProprietaryApache-2.0
LanguageJavaPython
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM2,048 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars—★ 1,100
First released20132011
ReplacesDocuWareDocuWare, M-Files

What are ecoDMS and Mayan EDMS?

ecoDMS

ecoDMS is a document archiving system that scans, OCRs, classifies, and stores documents in a searchable archive. The free edition can be self-hosted via container and supports automatic document recognition.

  • Automatic OCR
  • Document classification
  • Searchable archive
  • Container deployment

Mayan EDMS

Mayan EDMS is an open-source electronic document management system for storing, indexing, and organizing documents with OCR. It includes workflows, document versioning, and granular permissions.

  • OCR and full-text search
  • Document workflows
  • Versioning and history
  • Granular access control

Read the full Mayan EDMS guide →

ecoDMS vs Mayan EDMS: key differences

EcoDMS is written in Java, while Mayan EDMS is built with Python. Licensing differs — Proprietary for ecoDMS versus Apache-2.0 for Mayan EDMS. Mayan EDMS is the more established project (first released 2011), while ecoDMS arrived in 2013.

Why pick each one

Choose ecoDMS if…

  • Strong OCR pipeline
  • Self-hostable free edition

Watch out for

  • Not open source
  • Licensing limits on free tier
ecoDMS details

Choose Mayan EDMS if…

  • Powerful workflow engine
  • Enterprise-grade features

Watch out for

  • Complex to configure
  • Resource intensive
Mayan EDMS details

Frequently asked questions

Is ecoDMS or Mayan EDMS better?

Neither is universally better. Mayan EDMS has the larger community, while ecoDMS is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are ecoDMS and Mayan EDMS free and open-source?

Yes. ecoDMS is licensed under Proprietary and Mayan EDMS under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run ecoDMS and Mayan EDMS with Docker?

ecoDMS: yes. Mayan EDMS: yes.

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