Comparisons / An M-Files Alternative for Small Businesses
An M-Files Alternative for Small Businesses
An M-Files alternative for small teams: metadata instead of folders, no implementation project, price on the website. A fair comparison.
M-Files made a convincing idea popular: find documents by what they are, not where they’re stored. Add workflows, AI features and tight Microsoft 365 integration, and you have a strong system for mid-sized and large companies.
For a team of three to twenty people it’s often more than needed. Papermerge is a simple, affordable alternative to M-Files: the same core idea (metadata instead of folders), but without an implementation project, with the price on the website and built around the German GoBD archiving rules.
Common ground: metadata instead of folders
In Papermerge you choose a category for every document, for example Incoming invoice, and enter its metadata: supplier, date, amount. You then find it by exactly those details; automatic filing decides where it’s stored. More in Metadata over folders.
Comparison
As of October 2026, based on the vendors’ public information.
| M-Files | Papermerge | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | on request, subscription per user | public: €39/month for up to 3 users, +€9 per additional user |
| Buying | through M-Files or a partner | sign up online yourself |
| Setup | usually a project | setup wizard |
| Hosting | cloud or own server | cloud, hosted in Frankfurt |
| Metadata instead of folders | yes | yes |
| Workflows, AI features | yes | no |
| OCR, full-text search | yes | no |
| Microsoft 365 integration | yes | no |
| Versions, audit log, retention | yes | yes, deletion only after approval |
| Support | through M-Files or a partner | directly from the developer |
When M-Files is the better choice
- You need workflows, approval processes and AI-assisted classification.
- Your team works heavily in Microsoft 365.
- You have many users, sites or departments and a budget for the rollout.
When Papermerge fits better
- Your team is small and has no IT department.
- You want an audit-ready archive for invoices, receipts and contracts, not a process toolkit.
- You want to know the price upfront, cancel monthly and start today.
M-Files is a trademark of M-Files Corporation. Papermerge is not affiliated with M-Files. Information based on public sources (October 2026).
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does M-Files cost?
M-Files doesn't list fixed prices on its website; M-Files or a partner provides a quote. It's usually billed as a subscription per user (as of October 2026).
Does Papermerge also use metadata instead of folders?
Yes. Every category has its own metadata fields, and you find documents by category, metadata and tags. Papermerge files them into folders automatically based on the category.