Comparisons / A DocuWare Alternative for Small Businesses
A DocuWare Alternative for Small Businesses
Looking for a DocuWare alternative? Pricing, setup and features compared fairly, and when DocuWare is still the better choice.
DocuWare is one of the best-known document management systems in Europe, and a good choice for many mid-sized and large companies. For a business with three to twenty people it’s often more than needed: more features, more setup, more cost.
Papermerge is a simple, affordable alternative to DocuWare for small businesses: a digital archive for invoices, receipts and contracts, built around the German GoBD rules, with the price on the website and no implementation project. Instead of a feature-by-feature race, we compare what makes the biggest difference for small teams: how you buy it, set it up and use it.
DocuWare pricing: what to plan for
DocuWare doesn’t list fixed prices on its website. Cloud packages depend on the number of users and storage; DocuWare or one of its partners quotes on request. Depending on the project, you may also pay for setup by a partner, training, add-on modules and integrations, and ongoing support. Ask for a quote and ask specifically about setup, training and minimum term.
Papermerge shows its price on the pricing page: €39 a month for up to 3 users, €9 per additional user. No setup fee, no minimum term, 14 days free.
Buying and setup
As of October 2026, based on the vendors’ public information.
| DocuWare | Papermerge | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | on request | public: from €39/month for up to 3 users |
| Buying | through DocuWare or a partner | sign up online yourself |
| Setup | usually a project with a partner | setup wizard, ready the same day |
| Trial | trial or demo via a form on the website | 14 days free, no credit card |
| Hosting | cloud or own server | cloud, hosted in Frankfurt |
| Support | through the partner or DocuWare | directly from the developer |
Everyday features
| DocuWare | Papermerge | |
|---|---|---|
| Audit-proof archiving (GoBD) | yes | yes |
| Versioning, audit log | yes | yes |
| Retention periods | yes | yes, per category, deletion only after approval |
| Import invoices by email | yes | yes, an address per cabinet |
| Automatic filing | yes | yes, by category |
| OCR, full-text search | yes | no |
| Configurable workflows | yes | no |
| Many third-party integrations | yes | no |
When DocuWare is the better choice
- You need OCR and automatic invoice capture for hundreds of invoices a month.
- You need multi-step workflows across departments.
- The DMS must be deeply integrated with ERP or industry software.
- You have many locations or hundreds of users and an IT team for the rollout.
When Papermerge fits better
- Your team has 2 to 20 people and no IT department.
- You want an archive that stands up to a tax audit, not a project with a spec.
- You want to know the price upfront, cancel monthly and start today.
How Papermerge covers the GoBD: GoBD-compliant archiving.
DocuWare is a trademark of DocuWare GmbH. Papermerge is not affiliated with DocuWare. All information about DocuWare is based on public sources (October 2026) and may change.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does DocuWare cost?
DocuWare doesn't publish fixed prices. Its cloud packages depend on the number of users and storage; DocuWare or a DocuWare partner quotes the price on request. Depending on the project, setup, training and add-on modules come on top (as of October 2026).
Does Papermerge have OCR and workflows like DocuWare?
No. Papermerge has no text recognition and no configurable workflows. You find documents by category, metadata such as supplier, date or amount, and tags. If you need OCR-based invoice processing or multi-step approval workflows, DocuWare is the better choice.
Can I switch from DocuWare to Papermerge?
Yes. Export your documents from DocuWare and upload them to Papermerge. For large archives, or if you want to carry over metadata, contact us first.