SHSelfHostIndex

OpenBooks 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?
OP OpenBooks Search and download ebooks from IRC Highway VS PA Paperless-ngx Document management for scanning, indexing and archiving
FeatureOpenBooksPaperless-ngx
CategoryE-books & Media LibraryE-books & Media Library
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageGoPython
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM128 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 2,390★ 44,077
First released20192022
ReplacesKindle StoreEvernote, DEVONthink

Why pick each one

Choose OpenBooks if…

  • Very easy to run
  • Lightweight
OpenBooks details

Choose Paperless-ngx if…

  • Excellent for paperless offices
  • Very active community
Paperless-ngx details

Frequently asked questions

Is OpenBooks or Paperless-ngx better?

Neither is universally better. Paperless-ngx has the larger community, while OpenBooks is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are OpenBooks and Paperless-ngx free and open-source?

Yes. OpenBooks is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Paperless-ngx under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run OpenBooks and Paperless-ngx with Docker?

OpenBooks: yes. Paperless-ngx: yes.

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