Papermerge vs PDFKeeper
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted document management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Papermerge
Document management system for scanned documents
VS
PDFKeeper
Open-source PDF document management system
| Feature | Papermerge | PDFKeeper |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 521 | ★ 228 |
| First released | 2017 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Evernote, DEVONthink | DEVONthink, Mayan EDMS |
Why pick each one
Choose PDFKeeper if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in C#
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Papermerge or PDFKeeper better?
Neither is universally better. Papermerge has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Papermerge and PDFKeeper free and open-source?
Yes. Papermerge is licensed under Apache-2.0 and PDFKeeper under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Papermerge and PDFKeeper with Docker?
Papermerge: yes. PDFKeeper: check the project docs for container support.