Mayan EDMS vs SeedDMS
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
SeedDMS
Easy-to-use web-based document management system
| Feature | Mayan EDMS | SeedDMS |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,100 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2011 | 2010 |
| Replaces | DocuWare, M-Files | SharePoint, M-Files |
What are Mayan EDMS and SeedDMS?
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
SeedDMS
SeedDMS is an open-source web-based document management system that is easy to install and use. It supports versioning, access control, notifications, and full-text search for small and medium teams.
- Document versioning
- Fine-grained permissions
- Full-text search
- Email notifications
Mayan EDMS vs SeedDMS: key differences
Mayan EDMS is written in Python, while SeedDMS is built with PHP. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Mayan EDMS versus GPL-2.0 for SeedDMS. SeedDMS is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Mayan EDMS. Mayan EDMS has the considerably larger community, at 1,100 GitHub stars versus 200.
Why pick each one
Choose Mayan EDMS if…
- Powerful workflow engine
- Enterprise-grade features
Watch out for
- Complex to configure
- Resource intensive
Choose SeedDMS if…
- Quick to deploy
- Approachable interface
Watch out for
- Hosted mainly on SourceForge
- Dated UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Mayan EDMS or SeedDMS better?
Neither is universally better. Mayan EDMS has the larger community, while SeedDMS is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mayan EDMS and SeedDMS free and open-source?
Yes. Mayan EDMS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SeedDMS under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mayan EDMS and SeedDMS with Docker?
Mayan EDMS: yes. SeedDMS: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Mayan EDMS or SeedDMS?
SeedDMS 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.