Mayan EDMS vs OpenKM vs Papra

Mayan EDMS, OpenKM and Papra all let you self-host a searchable, tag-and-metadata-driven document store for free, but they aim at different scales of the same…

Mayan EDMS

Open Source · From Free

Best for: Organizations that need enterprise-scale, multi-language OCR document management with a flexible metadata-and-cabinet model and no licensing fees, and have the Docker/Django skills to run it.

OpenKM

Freemium · From Free (Community Edition); Professional and Cloud plans are custom-quoted, with third-party estimates starting around $30/user/month

Best for: Compliance-heavy teams (legal, healthcare, government) that need formal records management and jBPM-based workflow automation, with the option to add vendor support via a paid edition.

Papra

Open Source · From Free (self-hosted); Cloud plans from $7.50/month billed annually

Best for: Individuals, freelancers and small teams who want a lightweight, easy self-hosted (or low-cost cloud) document archive with email ingestion and automatic tagging rather than a full enterprise DMS.

At a Glance

 Mayan EDMSOpenKMPapra
Primary categoryDocuments & E-signatureDocuments & E-signatureDocuments & E-signature
RatingNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelOpen SourceFreemiumOpen Source
Starting priceFreeFree (Community Edition); Professional and Cloud plans are custom-quoted, with third-party estimates starting around $30/user/monthFree (self-hosted); Cloud plans from $7.50/month billed annually
Free planYesYesYes
Free trialNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsNot documentedWebWeb
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
Public APIYesYesYes

Standout Differences

Enterprise scale and distributed OCR

Mayan EDMS is architected to scale from small deployments to repositories with hundreds of millions of documents, with OCR workloads that can be distributed across multiple worker nodes for large installs.

Mayan EDMS

Formal records management and workflow

OpenKM pairs a jBPM-based workflow engine with dedicated records management (RM) features for retention schedules and regulatory compliance, plus an optional paid Professional or Cloud edition with vendor support.

OpenKM

Lightweight footprint, fast to run

Papra ships as a Docker image under 200MB and is explicitly designed for people who found tools like Evernote or enterprise DMS platforms too complex, prioritizing simplicity over feature breadth.

Papra

Automated intake differs sharply

Papra automates document intake with a dedicated email-ingestion address and configurable auto-tagging rules, a workflow Mayan EDMS and OpenKM do not document as a built-in capability.

Papra

Both enterprise options add e-signature capability

Mayan EDMS verifies embedded cryptographic signatures and detached signature files, while OpenKM includes native digital signature support; Papra does not document e-signature functionality.

Mayan EDMS, OpenKM

Feature-by-Feature

Core document handling

FeatureMayan EDMSOpenKMPapra
OCR / text extractionAvailableAvailableAvailable
Custom metadata and taggingAvailableAvailableAvailable
Document versioningAvailableAvailableNot documented

Process and compliance

FeatureMayan EDMSOpenKMPapra
Workflow / business process automationAvailableAvailableUnavailable
Records management (retention/compliance)Not documentedAvailableUnavailable
Electronic/digital signatureAvailableAvailableNot documented

Deployment and access

FeatureMayan EDMSOpenKMPapra
Self-hosted deploymentAvailableAvailableAvailable
Managed cloud/SaaS optionUnavailableAvailableAvailable
Email-based document ingestionNot documentedNot documentedAvailable
REST APINot documentedAvailableAvailable

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Mayan EDMS

Open Source — Free N/A
Commercial Support (optional) — Custom varies

OpenKM

Community Edition — Free N/A
Professional Edition — Custom (estimated from around $30/user/month) Monthly or annual
Cloud Edition — Custom quote Monthly or annual

Papra

Free (Cloud) — $0/month Monthly
Plus (Cloud) — $9/month ($7.50/month billed annually) Monthly or annual
Pro (Cloud) — $30/month ($25/month billed annually) Monthly or annual
Self-Hosted — Free N/A
Enterprise — Custom (contact sales) Custom

Pros & Cons

Mayan EDMS

Pros

  • Completely free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license
  • Enterprise-scale architecture capable of handling hundreds of millions of documents
  • Built-in multi-language OCR with distributed processing for large repositories
  • Flexible metadata and cabinet organization instead of rigid folder hierarchies
  • Mature project with over a decade of continuous development and a large contributor base

Cons

  • Requires self-hosting and Django/Docker familiarity to deploy and maintain
  • No official managed cloud/SaaS offering from the core project
  • User interface is less polished than commercial DMS platforms like M-Files or DocuWare
  • Documentation and support rely heavily on community forums outside of paid consulting
  • Initial setup and configuration can be complex for non-technical teams

OpenKM

Pros

  • Free, open-source Community Edition available for self-hosting
  • Strong workflow and business process automation via jBPM
  • Purpose-built records management features for compliance-heavy industries
  • Scales from small teams to large enterprise deployments
  • International presence with localized support in multiple regions

Cons

  • Professional and Cloud pricing is not published and requires a sales quote
  • Community Edition has no official vendor support, only forums
  • Admin interface feels dated compared to newer cloud-native DMS tools
  • Workflow configuration has a learning curve for non-technical users
  • Smaller third-party app marketplace than mainstream competitors like Box

Papra

Pros

  • Free and fully open source (AGPL-3.0) with no vendor lock-in
  • Lightweight self-hosting footprint compared to heavier enterprise DMS platforms
  • Automatic tagging and email ingestion reduce manual filing work
  • Transparent, low-cost managed cloud option for non-technical users
  • Actively developed with a public roadmap and responsive open-source community

Cons

  • Young project (started 2025) so its feature set and integrations are less mature than established DMS platforms
  • Self-hosting requires basic Docker and server administration skills
  • No dedicated native mobile app is documented at this time
  • Smaller ecosystem of third-party integrations than SaaS incumbents like Evernote
  • Enterprise-grade compliance certifications (such as SOC 2 or HIPAA) are not publicly documented

Use Cases

Choose Mayan EDMS: Organizations that need enterprise-scale, multi-language OCR document management with a flexible metadata-and-cabinet model and no licensing fees, and have the Docker/Django skills to run it.
Choose OpenKM: Compliance-heavy teams (legal, healthcare, government) that need formal records management and jBPM-based workflow automation, with the option to add vendor support via a paid edition.
Choose Papra: Individuals, freelancers and small teams who want a lightweight, easy self-hosted (or low-cost cloud) document archive with email ingestion and automatic tagging rather than a full enterprise DMS.

Mayan EDMS

  • Government document digitization — Public-sector agencies digitize and manage permit, regulatory and case files with strict audit requirements.
  • Regulated document retention — Legal, healthcare and financial organizations need searchable, versioned document storage with electronic signature verification.
  • Enterprise-scale archive replacement — Organizations replacing paper archives or legacy DMS systems need a scalable, self-hosted, cost-free platform.

OpenKM

  • Legal and compliance document management — Law firms and compliance teams use OpenKM's records management and audit features to manage sensitive documents.
  • Enterprise records management — Large organizations use OpenKM to enforce retention schedules and regulatory document lifecycles across departments.
  • Educational institution document control — Universities and schools use OpenKM to manage administrative records, student files, and institutional documents.

Papra

  • Personal document archiving — Individuals scan and store receipts, contracts, IDs and other personal paperwork in one searchable place.
  • Small business and freelancer paperwork — Freelancers and small businesses organize invoices, contracts and receipts without a full enterprise DMS.
  • Self-hosted homelab document hub — Technical users run Papra alongside other self-hosted services on a home server or NAS.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which of these three is easiest for a non-technical team to run?

Papra is the lightest to operate, shipping as a Docker image under 200MB with a managed cloud option starting at $9/month ($7.50/month billed annually) for teams that don't want to self-host at all. Mayan EDMS and OpenKM require more Docker/Django or Java administration skill and have no first-party managed offering as accessible for small teams.

Do any of these tools include workflow automation?

Yes. Mayan EDMS has a built-in workflow engine that tracks document state and triggers actions on changes, and OpenKM automates approval chains and business processes with a jBPM-based engine. Papra is focused on archiving and search rather than workflow automation.

Which tool is best suited to regulatory or compliance-heavy industries?

OpenKM has dedicated records management (RM) features built for retention schedules and regulatory compliance, making it the strongest documented fit for legal, healthcare or government use cases among the three. Mayan EDMS supports electronic signature verification but does not document a dedicated RM module, and Papra does not document compliance certifications.

Can any of these scale to a very large document repository?

Mayan EDMS is explicitly architected to scale to repositories with hundreds of millions of documents, with OCR that can be distributed across multiple worker nodes. OpenKM scales from small teams to large enterprise deployments. Papra is a younger project (started 2025) built primarily for individuals and small teams.

Are all three free to use?

Mayan EDMS is free and open source under Apache 2.0 with only optional paid consulting. OpenKM's Community Edition is free and open source, while its Professional and Cloud editions are paid and custom-quoted. Papra is free to self-host under AGPL-3.0, with an optional paid cloud tier starting at $7.50/month billed annually.

Which tool has the most mature project history?

Mayan EDMS is the most established, founded in 2010 with over 200 releases and more than 100 contributors. OpenKM was founded in 2005 as a company. Papra is the newest of the three, started as a side project in January 2025.

Read the full Mayan EDMS review · Read the full OpenKM review · Read the full Papra review