# beam vs Paperless-ngx

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | beam | Paperless-ngx |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 60/100 | 86/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #31 of 125 in AI | #3 of 46 in Document Management |
| GitHub stars | 1 834 | 47 255 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +47 | +1 264 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 364 ✓ | 26 |
| Latest release | gateway-0.1.837 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ | v3.3.4 · 22 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Paperless-ngx scores 86/100 against 60/100 for beam, so it is the safer default.

beam ships more often: 364 stable releases in the past year, against 26 for Paperless-ngx.

If you want the quickest setup, Paperless-ngx is easier to run; beam needs more configuration.

Paperless-ngx is growing faster right now (+1 264 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [beam](https://selfhost.directory/project/beam) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/beam.md)
- [Paperless-ngx](https://selfhost.directory/project/paperless-ngx) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/paperless-ngx.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/beam-vs-paperless-ngx