Paperless-ngx vs PDFKeeper
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted document management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Paperless-ngx
Document management for scanning, indexing and archiving
VS
PDFKeeper
Open-source PDF document management system
| Feature | Paperless-ngx | PDFKeeper |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 75 · Good |
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 45,960 | ★ 242 |
| First released | 2022 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Evernote, DEVONthink | DEVONthink, Mayan EDMS |
What are Paperless-ngx and PDFKeeper?
Paperless-ngx
Paperless-ngx is a community-supported document management system that transforms physical documents into a searchable digital archive. It performs OCR, automatic tagging, and full-text indexing of all your paperwork.
- Automatic OCR processing
- Smart tagging and matching
- Full-text search
- Document archiving
PDFKeeper
PDFKeeper is an open-source PDF document management system for capturing, storing, organizing, and retrieving PDF documents. It supports full-text search and runs against an Oracle or PostgreSQL database backend.
- PDF capture and organization
- Full-text search
- PostgreSQL or Oracle backend
- Cross-platform desktop client
Paperless-ngx vs PDFKeeper: key differences
Paperless-ngx is written in Python, while PDFKeeper is built with C#. PDFKeeper is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Paperless-ngx. PDFKeeper is the more established project (first released 2014), while Paperless-ngx arrived in 2022. Paperless-ngx has the considerably larger community, at 45,960 GitHub stars versus 242. Paperless-ngx lists first-class Docker deployment; PDFKeeper does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Paperless-ngx if…
- Excellent for paperless offices
- Very active community
Watch out for
- Resource intensive
- Initial tuning required
Choose PDFKeeper if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in C#
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Paperless-ngx or PDFKeeper better?
Neither is universally better. Paperless-ngx has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Paperless-ngx and PDFKeeper free and open-source?
Yes. Paperless-ngx is licensed under GPL-3.0 and PDFKeeper under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Paperless-ngx and PDFKeeper with Docker?
Paperless-ngx: yes. PDFKeeper: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Paperless-ngx or PDFKeeper?
PDFKeeper has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Paperless-ngx. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.