Mayan EDMS vs OpenKM Community
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
OpenKM Community
Archived
Enterprise document management and content platform
| Feature | Mayan EDMS | OpenKM Community |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,100 | ★ 849 |
| First released | 2011 | 2006 |
| Replaces | DocuWare, M-Files | DocuWare, SharePoint |
What are Mayan EDMS and OpenKM Community?
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
OpenKM Community
OpenKM is an enterprise content management system with a community edition for storing and managing documents and records. It offers workflows, metadata, OCR, and granular security controls.
- Workflow automation
- Metadata and records management
- OCR and full-text search
- Fine-grained security
Mayan EDMS vs OpenKM Community: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: OpenKM Community's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Mayan EDMS is actively maintained. Mayan EDMS is written in Python, while OpenKM Community is built with Java. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Mayan EDMS versus GPL-2.0 for OpenKM Community. OpenKM Community is the more established project (first released 2006), while Mayan EDMS arrived in 2011.
Why pick each one
Choose Mayan EDMS if…
- Powerful workflow engine
- Enterprise-grade features
Watch out for
- Complex to configure
- Resource intensive
Choose OpenKM Community if…
- Comprehensive enterprise features
- Mature platform
Watch out for
- Heavy resource use
- Complex administration
Frequently asked questions
Is Mayan EDMS or OpenKM Community better?
Neither is universally better. Mayan EDMS has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Mayan EDMS and OpenKM Community free and open-source?
Yes. Mayan EDMS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenKM Community under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mayan EDMS and OpenKM Community with Docker?
Mayan EDMS: yes. OpenKM Community: yes.