Mayan EDMS vs OpenDocMan
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted document management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Mayan EDMS
Free electronic document management with workflows
VS
OpenDocMan
Free web-based document management system in PHP
| Feature | Mayan EDMS | OpenDocMan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,100 | ★ 283 |
| First released | 2011 | 2004 |
| Replaces | DocuWare, M-Files | DocuWare, M-Files |
What are Mayan EDMS and OpenDocMan?
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
OpenDocMan
OpenDocMan is an open-source, web-based document management system written in PHP. It features fine-grained access control, automated check-in and check-out, and file metadata management.
- Fine-grained file access control
- Check-in and check-out
- File metadata and categories
- LDAP support
Mayan EDMS vs OpenDocMan: key differences
Mayan EDMS is written in Python, while OpenDocMan is built with PHP. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Mayan EDMS versus GPL-2.0 for OpenDocMan. OpenDocMan is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Mayan EDMS. OpenDocMan is the more established project (first released 2004), while Mayan EDMS arrived in 2011. Mayan EDMS has the considerably larger community, at 1,100 GitHub stars versus 283.
Why pick each one
Choose Mayan EDMS if…
- Powerful workflow engine
- Enterprise-grade features
Watch out for
- Complex to configure
- Resource intensive
Choose OpenDocMan if…
- Runs on a standard LAMP stack
- Simple to deploy
Watch out for
- Dated interface
- Limited modern features
Frequently asked questions
Is Mayan EDMS or OpenDocMan better?
Neither is universally better. Mayan EDMS has the larger community, while OpenDocMan is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mayan EDMS and OpenDocMan free and open-source?
Yes. Mayan EDMS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenDocMan under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mayan EDMS and OpenDocMan with Docker?
Mayan EDMS: yes. OpenDocMan: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Mayan EDMS or OpenDocMan?
OpenDocMan has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Mayan EDMS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.