openpencilvsPaperless-ngx
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| openpencil | Paperless-ngx | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 73/100 | 86/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 7 in Design | #3 of 46 in Document Management |
| GitHub stars | 9 407 | 47 259 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +806 | +1 268 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 26 |
| Latest release | v0.16.0 · 14 Oct 2026 | v3.3.4 · 22 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Python |
Which one should you pick?
Paperless-ngx scores 86/100 against 73/100 for openpencil, so it is the safer default.
Paperless-ngx ships more often: 26 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for openpencil.
If you want the quickest setup, openpencil is easier to run; Paperless-ngx needs more configuration.
openpencil details →Paperless-ngx details →
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