Papra vs Paperless-NGX Comparison

Feature comparison between Papra and Paperless-NGX document management systems. Compare storage, scalability, collaboration, and deployment options.

Why Papra Exists

Paperless-NGX is an excellent, mature project with a large community and extensive features. If it works perfectly for your needs, that’s great! However, Papra was created to address specific areas where improvements could be made:

  • User Experience: Papra is built from the ground up to be intuitive and easy to use, with a focus on modern UI/UX principles
  • Collaboration: Designed to make sharing documents with family members and teams easier with organizations and flexible permissions
  • Modern Architecture: Built with horizontal scalability and cloud-native deployments in mind from day one
  • Developer Experience: Provides modern tooling like a JavaScript SDK and comprehensive API documentation

If you’re looking for something that prioritizes these aspects, Papra might be worth exploring.

Feature Comparison

Here’s a detailed comparison between Papra and Paperless-NGX across various dimensions:

Paperless-NGX Papra
File Storage
 Local filesystem only Local filesystem, any S3-compatible storage, Azure Blob Storage, in-memory
Container Size
 2 containers (App: 1.42GB + Redis: 137MB) 1 container (963MB)
Scalability
 Primarily single-server, tied to local filesystem Horizontally scalable from the start, cloud-native architecture
Deployment Options
 Self-hosted only (unofficial third-party hosting exists) Self-hosted + official managed cloud service
Document Ingestion Methods
 Web UI, watch folder, CLI, API, email inbox lookup Web UI, watch folder, CLI, API, email ingestion (send-to address)
Mobile Apps
 Multiple third-party mobile applications Official mobile app (coming soon)
Desktop Apps
 Some unmaintained third-party desktop app Official desktop app (coming soon)
Developer Tools
 API + Webhooks API + JS/TS SDK + Webhooks
Multi-User Support
 Yes Yes
Organizations
 No Yes, with flexible organization management
Sharing & Collaboration
 Multi-user but limited shared collection support Built-in organization structure makes sharing with family and teams easier
License
 GPL-3.0 AGPL-3.0
Maturity
 Very mature, established project Newer, actively developed
Community
 Large, well-established ecosystem Growing community
Target Audience
 Tech-savvy users comfortable with self-hosting Users looking for modern, intuitive experience
Documentation
 Extensive and mature, many community resources and tutorials Growing and improving

Which Should You Choose?

Both Papra and Paperless-NGX are excellent open-source solutions for document management. Your choice depends on your specific needs:

Choose Paperless-NGX if:

  • You want a mature, battle-tested solution with years of development
  • You’re part of the existing Paperless ecosystem and community
  • You prefer a single-server setup with local filesystem storage
  • You’re satisfied with the current feature set and user experience
  • You want access to multiple third-party mobile applications

Choose Papra if:

  • You prioritize modern, intuitive user experience
  • You need flexible storage options (S3, Azure Blob, etc.)
  • You want built-in organization features for easier family/team sharing
  • You’re planning for horizontal scalability from the start
  • You prefer an official managed cloud option instead of self-hosting
  • You want modern developer tooling like a JavaScript SDK
  • You value a more streamlined, lightweight container setup

Try Both!

Since both projects are open-source and self-hostable, you can try both to see which fits your workflow better. Many users have successfully migrated between different document management solutions.

Final Thoughts

Both projects share the same goal: helping people manage their documents effectively. Your choice depends on your specific needs, technical comfort level, and preferences.

We encourage you to try both and see what works best for your workflow. The document management space benefits from having multiple quality open-source options, and we’re grateful for the foundation the Paperless-NGX team has built.

Have questions about Papra or want to discuss features? Join our Discord community or reach out via our contact page.

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