Paperless-ngx alternative
A Paperless-ngx alternative with nothing to host.
Paperless-ngx is the best self-hosted document archive there is, and it asks you to run it: Docker, a consume folder, and tagging rules you write and maintain. Granite is the hosted path to the same outcome. You sign in, drop documents in, and Granite reads and files each one against more than 110 document types.
Best Paperless-ngx alternatives in 2026
Most people looking for a Paperless-ngx alternative are not unhappy with Paperless-ngx. They are unhappy with maintaining it: the Docker Compose file, the container updates, the tagging rules that need tuning. Here is an honest comparison on the things that actually decide between running your own archive and paying someone to run one.
| Feature | Granite | Paperless-ngx |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Hosted by Granite; browser and iPhone app | Your server, NAS, or a hosting provider |
| Setup required | Sign in and upload | Docker Compose, storage, backups, updates |
| Self-hostable | Nocloud only | Yesthis is the whole point |
| Open source | No | YesGPL, active community |
| Classifies documents out of the box | Yes110+ document types, no training | Partiallearns from tags you apply first |
| Extracts fields (dates, amounts, account numbers) | Yes | Partialdates and correspondents; no field library |
| Tagging and rules to maintain | Nonothing to configure | Yesmatching rules, storage paths, document types |
| Plain-English answers with the source page | YesAsk, on Granite Paid | Nofull-text search |
| Collections that form on their own | Yestax years, vehicles, policies | Noyou define tags and storage paths |
| Official mobile app | PartialiPhone app; no Android app | Nocommunity apps only |
| File types accepted | PDF, JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, text, Markdown | PDF and images; Office files via extra services |
| Email-in address | Yeson Granite Paid | Yesmail fetching you configure |
| Emergency access for someone else | Yeson Granite Paid | No |
| Cost | Free for 25 docs, then $99/yr flat | Software is free; hosting it is not |
| Export your archive | Yesencrypted ZIP, any time | Yesyou already hold the files |
Why switch
What changes when you stop hosting your archive
Granite is not a better Paperless-ngx. It is the version of the same idea where the running, the tuning, and the upgrading are somebody else's job.
No Docker, no server, no upgrade nights
Paperless-ngx expects a machine that stays on: a Compose file, a database, a consume folder, storage you back up, and containers you update before something breaks. Granite has none of that. You sign in at app.granite.co or open the iPhone app and start dropping documents. There is no version to pin and no migration to read release notes for.
Classification that works before you teach it anything
Paperless-ngx learns from the tags you apply, so the first few hundred documents are you training it by hand. Granite ships with a library of more than 110 document types, from W-2s and 1099s to passports, home insurance policies, and vehicle titles. The first document you upload gets recognized correctly without you creating a single rule.
Ask a question instead of writing a query
Paperless-ngx gives you full-text search, which finds documents containing your words. On Granite Paid you can ask what did I pay for the roof repair or when does my passport expire and get the answer in plain English, with a link to the exact page it came from so you can check it against the document yourself.
Built for the archive outliving you, not just outliving the year
Granite encrypts every file at rest with a key per user and encrypts sensitive fields row by row. You can name an emergency contact who can reach your vault, turn on an opt-in inactivity check, and export the whole archive as an encrypted ZIP at any time. A self-hosted archive is only as durable as the person maintaining the server.
Honest tradeoffs
Where Paperless-ngx still wins
Paperless-ngx is excellent software with a community that has earned its reputation. If any of these matters to you, it is the right choice and Granite is not.
Your data on your own hardware
Paperless-ngx runs on a machine you own. Nothing leaves the house unless you send it. Granite is cloud-only, with no self-hosted version, and Granite is encrypted at rest rather than zero-knowledge, because the service has to read your documents to classify them and answer questions about them. If that trade is not acceptable to you, self-host.
Open source and no vendor to outlive
Paperless-ngx is GPL software with an active community, so it cannot be discontinued out from under you and you can read exactly what it does with your files. Granite is a closed product from a young company. Our answer is a one-click encrypted export in plain formats, which is a real mitigation but not the same guarantee.
Control over every rule
Paperless-ngx lets you define correspondents, document types, storage paths, and matching rules down to regular expressions, and route everything exactly how you want. Granite deliberately does not expose that. Classification and collections happen automatically, which is the point, but if you want to hand-build the taxonomy, Granite will feel like it is deciding too much for you.
Office files and unlimited storage
With the optional Tika and Gotenberg services, Paperless-ngx will ingest Word and other Office documents. Granite accepts PDFs, images, plain text, and Markdown. Storage on a self-hosted install is whatever disk you attach; Granite Paid is capped at 100 GB.
FAQ
Paperless-ngx alternative FAQ
- Is there a hosted version of Paperless-ngx?
- Paperless-ngx itself is self-hosted software, but several providers will run it for you. Elestio lists managed Paperless-ngx from about $16 per month and Sliplane from about 9 euros per month, which puts a hosted install in the range of roughly $110 to $200 per year before storage. Granite is a different product rather than managed Paperless-ngx, and costs $99 per year with no document cap.
- What is the easiest Paperless-ngx alternative if I do not want Docker?
- If the blocker is running containers, you want a hosted document archive rather than a lighter self-hosted one. Granite requires no server, no Docker, and no configuration: you sign in, upload a document, and it is read, classified, and filed. We will not call ourselves the best. Read the comparison table above and judge it against what you actually do with your archive.
- Can I move my Paperless-ngx documents into Granite?
- You can export your documents from Paperless-ngx and upload them to Granite, and Granite will read and classify each one on the way in. What does not carry over is your Paperless-ngx metadata: tags, correspondents, and storage paths do not import. Granite rebuilds its own classification, fields, and collections by reading the documents themselves, so the structure is regenerated rather than migrated.
- Does Granite have a mobile app? Paperless-ngx does not have an official one.
- Granite has an iPhone app on the App Store, with upload from the camera, the share sheet, and search across your vault. There is no Android app and no iPad layout yet. Paperless-ngx has no official mobile app at all, though the community maintains good third-party clients for both platforms.
- Is Granite more private than a self-hosted Paperless-ngx install?
- No, and we will not claim otherwise. A Paperless-ngx install on hardware you own is the more private option by definition. Granite encrypts every file at rest with a key per user, encrypts sensitive fields row by row, never trains AI models on your documents, and keeps your archive exportable, but Granite is not zero-knowledge. The trade you are making is privacy control for not having to run a server.
- What does Granite cost compared to running Paperless-ngx?
- Paperless-ngx software is free; the cost is the machine and your time. A NAS or small server plus backups is a real expense, and managed Paperless-ngx providers charge roughly $110 to $200 per year. Granite is free for your first 25 documents and 1 GB, then $99 per year for 100 GB with no document cap, billed annually. There is no monthly plan and no trial.
Keep exploring
More on Granite
- Granite vs Google DriveStorage that reads and organizes what you put in, not just holds files.
- Granite vs DropboxA vault that understands your documents instead of syncing folders of them.
- Granite vs EvernoteIf Evernote became your filing cabinet for real paperwork, Granite is what it was trying to be.
- Granite as an AI document organizerNo folders and no tags: what reading each document on the way in actually buys you.
- How Granite reads every documentAuto-classify against 110+ types and extract the fields that matter, on upload.
- How Granite encrypts your vaultEnvelope encryption at rest, per-row field encryption, encrypted exports, and what we do not claim.
- Free for your first 25 documentsOne flat $99/year after that. No document cap, no per-seat math.
Keep the archive. Skip the server.
Granite is free for your first 25 documents: reading, classification, search, and encrypted export, with no card required. Drop in a tax return or an insurance policy and see what it makes of it before you decide anything.