nb Notes vs Paperless-ngx
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
nb Notes
Command-line note-taking, bookmarking, and archiving tool
VS
Paperless-ngx
Document management for scanning, indexing and archiving
| Feature | nb Notes | Paperless-ngx |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | E-books & Media Library |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Shell | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,343 | ★ 44,077 |
| First released | 2019 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Notion | Evernote, DEVONthink |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is nb Notes or Paperless-ngx better?
Neither is universally better. Paperless-ngx has the larger community, while nb Notes is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are nb Notes and Paperless-ngx free and open-source?
Yes. nb Notes is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Paperless-ngx under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run nb Notes and Paperless-ngx with Docker?
nb Notes: check the project docs for container support. Paperless-ngx: yes.