10 Best Free and Open Source Document Management Software Solutions

10 Best Free and Open Source Document Management Software Solutions At one point or the other, we will all have to deal with the task of organizing and storing important documents, whether at home or work. There are plenty of open-source document management software options out there, but not all of them will work for you and your business needs.

According to a report, The worldwide market for document management software is projected to reach $10.17 billion by 2025.

So, we have extensively prepared a list of the ten best free document management software solutions to help you get your documents organized.

These free document management systems run on Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems and can be used in businesses of any size, so check out our list to learn more about these great options.

Let’s Get Started

10 Best Free and Open Source Document Management Software Solutions 1. OpenDocMan

OpenDocMan is an open-source, web-based document management system (DMS) that allows users to add any file type. It’s ideal for individuals or small businesses in need of a DMS solution.

It’s based on PHP, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Apache, Ubuntu, etc., and comes with an intuitive interface that allows you to manage documents efficiently.

You can use it to organize your documents, collaborate with others using shared links to documents, prevent data loss by synchronizing files with storage servers or other computers running OpenDocMan. Key Features: ● Robust document management workflow. ● Ease to approve or reject a new document. ● It supports Various Languages including; Chinese, English, Dutch, Portuguese, German, Croatian, Turkish, and Spanish. ● One can quickly browse search by category.

2. OpenKM

OpenKM is an efficient and powerful system that allows any organization to store, manage, retrieve information about your documents. One of the main highlights of OpenKM’s functionality is its advanced search feature which will help you increase productivity while managing workgroups or enterprises easily.

Key Features: ● One can quickly download folders as ZIP files. ● You get the facility to lock and unlock the documents with easy passwords. ●

Document templates are available.

3. SeedDMS

SeedDMS is a sophisticated and free open source document management software solution with many useful features. The user-friendly and intuitive interface allows users to find documents quickly, while the open-source version ensures that new updates are always available for free.

Key Features: ● You get the convenience to preserve all former document versions here. ● Availability of Multiple user management. ● It supports multiple languages.

4. Papermerge

Papermerge is a valuable tool for document management. Its free trial lets you keep your documents organized and accessible from one central location with its multi-user system. Moreover, it supports scanned formats such as PDF, JPG, TIFF, PNG, etc.

Papermerge supports automated workflows, so moving a file between folders or adding metadata can be done automatically instead of manually by the user, saving time and effort in performing these tasks over again on other files stored within this software.

Key Features: ● You can find your documents by metadata, extracted text, tags, folders, and more. ● A digital archive facility is available for storing documents. ● Papermerge is well known for its intuitive user interface.

5. Krystal DMS

Krystal DMS is an open-source document management software solution that can help you manage your documents and information.

The simple yet powerful free open source database will change how we deal with our files and data, making it easy for us rather than having piles of paperwork everywhere!

Krystal DMS makes processing and managing your valuable documents easier without leaving behind space or even any mess like before.

This incredible tool allows users to try out its features on their own through the trail, where they can evaluate Krystal’s performance.

Also, you can say goodbye to those heavy filing cabinets, which only eats up more room and time when dealing with them.

Key Features:

● Krystal DMS offers you clean folder structures. ● It comes with a decent workflow management feature. ● Krystal DMS lets you control access. ● One can quickly scan, capture and store documents.

6. LogicalDoc

The LogicalDoc is a free document management software that offers several features and makes it easy to manage your documents. The software has been distributed with the GNU license, meaning that it’s entirely free to download from their website.

Key Features: ● LogicalDoc allows importing from ZIP archives. ● It has an internal messaging system that makes it outstanding. ● LogicalDoc comes with significant security policies.

7. Mayan EDMS

Mayan EDMS is one of the most trustworthy free document management software with advanced search and categorization functions. The software quickly integrates with your existing system, offers complete operational efficiency, and reduces time spent on finding documents.

Being an open-source solution, Mayan EDMS has been tested over the years allowing its users to see how it handles different types of digital files they want to store securely online.

Key Features: ● Mayan DMS offers you the facility to restore documents moved to trash. ● You get access to a permission-controlled panel. ● Mayan DMS provides you with excellent document workflows.

8. PandaDoc PandaDoc is a document management system that allows you to automate all your documentation related to the sales process. You can create beautiful proposals, quotes, and contracts while also digitally signing them with eSignatures.

You have access to an embedded payment collection functionality that ensures your finances are up-to-date with minimal effort.

Key Features: ● PandaDoc provides integration with CRM software like Salesforce, Zoho, and HubSpot. ● It allows clients to make a payment from the contract document itself.

● PandaDoc has pre-built templates and a library of content for proposal generation.

9. Kimios

Kimios is an efficient software that can help you manage and track your documents. It is also a lightweight document management system that lets you directly integrate it into your Windows OS. It’s SOA-based and functions on the client-server model, so one can efficiently manage documents.

Key Features: ● Kimios has a check-in and check-out feature. ● It comes with a customizable search engine. ● It makes it easy to create, update or erase documents.

10. Google Docs

There are many free document management systems available in the market. Google Docs is probably one of the most popular ones because it allows you to store all your documents on its cloud interface.

You can access them from any browser regardless of the platform as long as you have a Gmail account and manage them easily. You can add multiple users to share files while using this software too.

Key Features: ● Google Docs provides you with access control features. ● Google Docs allows you to store, track and manage documents efficiently.

● It is compatible with the desktop and smartphones.

Benefits of having Open Source Document Management Software Paper-based documents and their management has always been a bottleneck. The demand for an efficient Document Management system is on the rise, as it helps to create structured data from big unstructured data.

So, thanks to digitalization, where we get to see exponential growth in both personal and business content.

An efficient Document Management system offers one-stop solutions that enable businesses owners to create, capture, distribute, manage different forms of information more effectively. ● You can quickly discover documents with the help of a document management system. ● You can check your document at any time, i.e., 24/7 availability of documents. ● One can share the documents with anyone easily. ● One can catalog thousands and millions of documents. ● You get the facility of digitization and life cycle management of all documents.

Read Also: Top 10 Free and Open-Source PDF Editor Software for 2021 Summing Up! The advantages of an efficient document management system are endless. Like, it can cut your costs by saving you time and money when managing paper documents in a structured manner.

If this sounds like something that would work for your business, we encourage you to opt for any of the above free document management software. We hope our article has helped shine a light on how these systems may benefit you and your team over the long term.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What makes a good document management system?

A good document management system should allow people to find documents quickly and easily, and it should also allow users to easily organize and edit their documents. Beyond that, it should enable people to collaborate on documents and share them with others.

Some document management systems offer only basic features such as uploading, downloading and editing documents, while some provide advanced features such as version control and collaboration tools.

Q2. What are the crucial features of an effective document management system?

For a document management system to be effective, it must-have features such as: ● easy uploading and downloading of documents ● easy organization and editing of documents ● being able to collaborate on documents and share them with others

A document management system should also have a way for people to find the documents that they need.

Q3. How do document management systems work?

A document management system is software that handles the storage, retrieval, and sharing of electronic documents. A document management system is much more than just a way to store documents in one place.

Documents can be used in many different ways with a document management system. For example, people can open them in their browser or an application on their desktop.

With specific document management systems, people can also edit documents, in the same way, they would work with Microsoft Office programs like Word or Excel.