# Docspell vs Paperless-ngx

Paperless-ngx scores 87/100 against 61/100 for Docspell, so it is the safer default. Paperless-ngx ships more often: 29 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Docspell.

> Two self-hosted [Document Management projects](https://selfhost.directory/document-management), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Docspell | Paperless-ngx |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 61/100 | 87/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #13 of 47 in Document Management | #1 of 47 in Document Management |
| GitHub stars | 2 346 | 47 881 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +13 | +1 597 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 29 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | v3.4.2 · 3 Nov 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Elm | Python |

## Also worth knowing

Paperless-ngx is growing faster right now (+1 597 stars in 30 days).

## Key differences

- License: Docspell is AGPL-3.0, Paperless-ngx is GPL-3.0.
- Language: Docspell is written mainly in Elm, Paperless-ngx in Python.
- Features only Docspell lists: Addons/extensions, Anonymous upload URLs, Automatic metadata extraction, Custom Fields and 9 more.
- Features only Paperless-ngx lists: AI-powered suggestions, Automatic document classification, Barcode Support, Email fetching and 6 more.
- Both offer: OCR, REST API.

## Details

- [Docspell](https://selfhost.directory/project/docspell) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/docspell.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/docspell-vs-paperless-ngx