16 Free Open-source Document Management Systems (DMS) for Enterprises and Individuals

What is a Document Management System?

A Document Management System (DMS) is a software system that enables organizations to store, manage, and track electronic documents and images of paper-based information.

The primary purpose of a DMS is to provide a central location for managing all digital and physical documents and automate document-centric processes to increase efficiency, productivity, and security.

A DMS ensures that documents are available to the right people at the right time, with the right level of access. It also allows organizations to create, edit, and collaborate on documents in real-time. Version control and audit trails help keep track of changes made to documents and who made them.

In summary, a DMS is an essential tool for any organization that deals with a large volume of documents and wants to streamline document-related processes and improve productivity.

While a Document Management System (DMS) undoubtedly offers significant benefits in terms of document organization and process optimization, the usefulness and feasibility of a free VPN (Virtual Private Network) within this context can be quite valuable. A free VPN can enhance the security aspect of a DMS by encrypting data transfers, ensuring that sensitive documents remain protected during transmission.

Additionally, it can extend the feasibility of remote document access, enabling authorized personnel to securely access the DMS from various locations, thus contributing to improved document availability.

Given that DMS systems often handle sensitive or confidential information, a free VPN can be a practical and cost-effective solution to enhance both the security and accessibility of vital documents, ultimately increasing the overall efficiency and productivity of an organization.

90% of our users choose free access, we try to make a quality VPN accessible to everyone.

Benefits of using an own DMS for an enterprise

Using an own DMS for an enterprise has several benefits, including:

Efficiency

A DMS streamlines document-related processes, automates workflows, and provides a centralized location for all documents. This can help reduce the time and effort needed to manage documents, leading to increased efficiency and productivity.

Cost savings

A DMS can help reduce costs by eliminating the need for paper-based processes, reducing storage requirements, and minimizing the risk of lost or misplaced documents.

Improved security

A DMS can help improve security by providing user access controls, audit trails, and version control. This can help ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive documents and that changes made to documents are tracked.

Collaboration

A DMS enables real-time collaboration on documents, allowing multiple users to view and edit documents simultaneously. This can help improve communication and collaboration within the enterprise.

Overall, using an own DMS can help an enterprise increase efficiency, reduce costs, improve security, and enhance collaboration.

Why Enterprise needs DMS?

Enterprises require a DMS to manage their large volumes of documents and streamline their document-related processes. Without a DMS, managing these documents can be a daunting task, leading to lost or misplaced documents, redundancy, and wasted time and resources.

A DMS provides a centralized location for all documents, automates document workflows, and helps ensure that the right people have access to the right documents at the right time. This can improve productivity, reduce costs, and increase security.

Advantages of using an Open-Source DMS for an Enterprise

Using an open-source DMS for an enterprise has several advantages, including:

Cost savings:

Open-source DMS solutions are often free or significantly cheaper than proprietary DMS solutions, which can help reduce costs for an enterprise.

Flexibility:

Open-source DMS solutions are highly customizable, allowing an enterprise to tailor the system to meet its specific needs and requirements.

Community support:

Open-source DMS solutions are supported by large communities of developers and users, providing access to a wealth of resources and expertise.

Transparency:

Open-source DMS solutions are transparent, meaning that an enterprise can examine the source code to ensure that the software is secure and meets its requirements.

No vendor lock-in:

Open-source DMS solutions do not have vendor lock-in, meaning that an enterprise is not tied to a specific vendor and can switch to a different solution if necessary.

Overall, using an open-source DMS can provide an enterprise with cost savings, flexibility, community support, transparency, and freedom from vendor lock-in.

So here is our list:

1- Papermerge

Papermerge is a powerful open-source document management system (DMS) that is specifically designed for archiving and retrieving digital documents.

Say goodbye to cluttered desks, offices, or drawers filled with piles of paper documents by scanning them and uploading them directly to Papermerge DMS, which will efficiently OCR and index them, making full-text search capabilities available and ensuring that you can always find the document you need.

Papermerge is the perfect solution for long-term storage of digital archives. It is an actively developed, web-based software that requires no executable files (i.e., no .exe files). Instead, it must be hosted on a web server and accessed through a web browser. Trust in the power of Papermerge to manage all of your documents with ease and confidence.

There are currently two main versions: 2.0 and 2.1. Version 2.1 is almost entirely rewritten and, as a result, is incompatible with version 2.0. For more information, please refer to the last section.

2- Docspell

Docspell is a powerful personal document organizer that can transform the way you manage your files. With its advanced features and capabilities, it is more than just a "Document Management System" (DMS). To convert your papers into digital files, simply use a scanner and let Docspell take care of the rest.

It can efficiently organize files from scanners, emails, and other sources, making it the ideal choice for home use, families, households, and smaller groups/companies.

3- OpenKM

OpenKM Community Edition is a free and open-source document management system (DMS). It OpenKM enables businesses to manage the production, storage, and distribution of electronic documents.

It allows for greater efficiency, information reuse, and document flow control. OpenKM integrates important functions such as document management, collaboration, and advanced search into a single, user-friendly solution.

The system provides administration tools for defining user roles, access control, user quotas, document security levels, detailed activity logs, and automation settings.

OpenKM Document Management System Community Edition is available to Open Source community under the GNU General Public Licence version 2.

4- Teedy

Teedy DMS is an open source, self-hosted document management system that allows you to store and manage all your documents securely.

With Teedy DMS, you can organize your documents, create tags for easy searching, and share documents with your team. It also has a powerful search engine that makes finding documents a breeze.

5- Mayan EDMS

Mayan EDMS is a highly effective and user-friendly document management system that is designed to provide a comprehensive solution for storing, categorizing, and organizing your files. In addition to its powerful storage capabilities, this system also offers a range of advanced features that make it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes.

For example, the system is equipped with OCR, which allows you to easily convert scanned documents into editable text.

This feature is particularly useful for businesses that deal with a large volume of paperwork, as it can save a significant amount of time and effort.

In addition, the system also offers a preview feature that allows you to view your documents before you open them. This can be especially useful if you need to quickly locate a specific document, as it allows you to quickly browse through your files without having to open each one individually.

Another key feature of Mayan EDMS is its labeling capability. This allows you to easily categorize and organize your documents based on their content, making it easier to find the files you need when you need them.

Ghost Admin

Ghost

6- OpenDocMan

OpenDocMan is a highly reliable and user-friendly web-based document management system (DMS) that is built using the PHP programming language.

It is specifically designed to comply with the rigorous standards set by ISO 17025 and OIE for efficient document management. The software offers a wide range of features that make it an ideal choice for individuals and organizations of all sizes.

One of the key features of OpenDocMan is its ability to provide fine-grained control of access to files. This means that users can be granted permission to access only the files that they need to do their job, which helps to ensure the security and privacy of sensitive information. In addition, OpenDocMan also offers automated installation and upgrades, which makes it incredibly easy to install and maintain.

7- Lodestone

Lodestone is a digital document management system that offers a range of features to help individuals and organizations manage their documents efficiently and effectively. With features such as full-text document search, rich tagging, and automated document processing, Lodestone is designed to make document management as easy and streamlined as possible.

One of the key benefits of Lodestone is its flexibility. Documents can be tagged and organized in a way that makes sense for each individual or organization, allowing for a highly personalized approach to document management.

In addition, Lodestone is non-destructive, meaning that documents are processed without altering the original file.

Lodestone is also highly accessible, with web-based access allowing users to access their documents from anywhere at any time. The system can also be synchronized with a range of cloud storage providers, making it easy to access documents on the go.

Lodestone can be easily installed in no time using Docker and Docker Compose.

8- Seeddms

SeedDMS is an amazing open source document management system that is particularly tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises. It features a user-friendly web-based interface that is not only easy to navigate, but also highly intuitive. One of its greatest strengths is the fact that it has been actively developed for over 10 years, which means that it has undergone numerous updates, improvements, and bug fixes.

SeedDMS is built on PHP, a popular server-side scripting language that is used to create dynamic web pages and applications.

It can run on Linux, MacOS, and Windows using either MySQL or sqlite3, which makes it highly adaptable to different platforms and environments.

One of the key benefits of SeedDMS is that it has been developed with the needs of businesses in mind. This means that it is not only powerful and flexible, but also highly customizable. It is loaded with features that make it a mature, powerful, and enterprise-ready platform for document sharing and storage.

One of the most impressive things about SeedDMS is the fact that it has received a lot of feedback from users over the years. This feedback has been used to make the platform even better and to add new features that are highly relevant to the needs of businesses. So, if you are looking for a reliable, flexible, and easy-to-use document management system that can help you take your business to the next level, then SeedDMS is definitely worth checking out.

SeedDMS

SeedDMS is a PHP based free document management system in active development for more than 10 years. It has an easy to use web based user interface and fits many purposes.

SeedDMS Document Management System

9- FormKiQ

FormKiQ Core is a flexible Open Source Document Management Platform that can be used as headless software or run using our web-based client interface. FormKiQ runs in your Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud, and can be used for document workflows, records management, and other document storage and processing needs using an extendable Document API.

FormKiQ is a released under the MIT license, and 2020-2023 (c) FormKiQ, Inc.

10- Adlibre DMS

Adlibre DMS is a web-based Document Management System (DMS/EDMS) for managing media and documents. It creates a digital vault for your documents that can be accessed from anywhere, replacing hard-copy paper systems.

The core philosophy of Adlibre DMS is to make your documents secure yet accessible from wherever they are required. With Adlibre DMS, you can make your documents universally available within your business and across all your applications and systems. It is the perfect system for archiving and transaction-oriented document workflows.

Its flexible architecture makes it ideal for government and enterprise users, as well as smaller businesses looking for a document management platform to build on. Adlibre DMS is also 100% commercially supported Open Source.

11- Paperbase

Paperbase is a free and 0pen source document organizer with automatic OCR and full text search. It is released under AGPL-3.0 License.

12- Seafile

Seafile is an open source cloud storage system with privacy protection and teamwork features.

Collections of files are called libraries. Each library can be synced separately. A library can also be encrypted with a user chosen password. Seafile also allows users to create groups and easily sharing files into groups.

13- LogicalDOC

LogicalDOC Community Edition is an open-source document management software. If you're seeking a free alternative, then the "Community" edition is ideal for you.

The LogicalDOC document management system (DMS) enables businesses to manage the production, storage, and distribution of electronic documents. This results in improved efficiency, the ability to reuse information, and better control of document flow.

LogicalDOC combines essential document management, collaboration, and advanced search functionality into one easy-to-use solution. The system also includes administration tools for defining user roles, access control, user quotas, document security levels, detailed activity logs, and automation setup.

14- Kimios DMS

Kimios is an open Document Management System, that provide a complete framework and users interfaces to handle document flows for any type of organization.

15- i-Librarian

I, Librarian - open-source version of a PDF managing SaaS. It can be installed on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

16- Ambar

If you know of any other open-source DMS solution that we did not mention here, let us know.