Filestash 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?
FeatureFilestashPapermerge
CategoryDocument ManagementDocument Management
LicenseAGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguageGoPython
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 14,451★ 521
First released20172017
ReplacesDropbox, SharePointEvernote, DEVONthink

Why pick each one

Choose Filestash if…

  • Unifies access to many backends
  • Easy deployment
Filestash details

Choose Papermerge if…

  • Familiar folder structure
  • Good PDF handling
Papermerge details

Frequently asked questions

Is Filestash or Papermerge better?

Filestash is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Papermerge if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Filestash and Papermerge free and open-source?

Yes. Filestash is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Papermerge under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Filestash and Papermerge with Docker?

Filestash: yes. Papermerge: yes.

Related comparisons