Ladder vs Paperless-ngx
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-books & media library options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Ladder
Bypass paywalls as 12ft.io does
VS
Paperless-ngx
Document management for scanning, indexing and archiving
| Feature | Ladder | Paperless-ngx |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | GPL-3.0-only | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 20 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,804 | ★ 44,077 |
| First released | 2023 | 2022 |
| Replaces | 12ft, 13ft | Evernote, DEVONthink |
Why pick each one
Choose Ladder if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0-only license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 8.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Ladder or Paperless-ngx better?
Neither is universally better. Paperless-ngx has the larger community, while Ladder is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ladder and Paperless-ngx free and open-source?
Yes. Ladder is licensed under GPL-3.0-only and Paperless-ngx under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ladder and Paperless-ngx with Docker?
Ladder: check the project docs for container support. Paperless-ngx: yes.