Best Free & Open Source Document Management Software

Are you finding a perfect way to simplify your business’s organization systems? Using a DMS (document management system) is the best practice when it works to keep your documents systematized automatically.

Document Management Solutions permits you to rapidly and successfully organize & manage the documentation to ensure that your work runs smoothly. An open-source DMS has become very necessary for every business to manage its documents with extreme efficiency.

DMS is essential for any organization or enterprise to manage all its documents in a well-organized manner. If you have a small or medium business and do not want to spend money on the paid DMS solution then you will go for a free & Open-source.

Several free and paid document management software is available to help you complete all your tasks without difficulties. So, the first thing you should understand before getting anyone is what is all about these systems?

Why do you need a DMS (Document Management System)?

When you give your hours finding your document then you lose productivity. Paper-based documents management is at all times a restricted process.

We should thank digitalization, where we can easily get to see exponential progress in both business and personal content. And, handling this enormous and unstructured data is no mean task.

A well-organized DMS (Document Management system) is a one-stop key for all the management of documents that they need. It allows you to create, arrange, capture, distribute, and collect different forms of content.

Key benefits

• Automation through offices
• Concentrated document management
• Life Cycle Management & Digitization of all documents
• Easy discovery of the documents
• Availability of documents 24/7
• Easy to share & Single storage point
• Easy to use, documents can be located anytime without any trouble
• Go paperless, you can use DMS on the go
• Capability to modify the system as per your work needs
• Maximize your project completion rate with access to the right document
• It is collaborative & system automates workflows

List of Free & Open Source Document Management System

The DMS stores, tracks, arrange, and keep the most important files safe without any hassle. We mention a list of the top free & open-source Document Management software with main features, pros & cons.

OpenKM

An automated document, as well as the best management system, OpenKM, is a famous name among most organizations. It works fine with all browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and so on.

OpenKM is a free DMS that permits you to set the different rules and the logic to automate the procedure of documentation.

Furthermore, this DMS is well-matched with all the file types like office, text, open office, PDF, XMS, HTML, JPEG, and many others.

Features

• Collects the right information from the digital sources
• Permit you to put a digital signature & watermark on important documents
• It comes with a proper workflow engine
• To encrypt your documents uses cryptography

Pros

• Drag-and-drop functionality for the comfort of usage
• Addition abilities with other CRMs, ERPs, and BPM tools
• Scalable system & fault-tolerant for business stability

Cons

• The UI requires upgrading to improve productivity

Seeddms

An open-based DMS, Seeddms supports MySQL & sqlite3 databases. It is an enterprise-ready document management scanning software that is utilized for sharing the top of storing documents.

Since it presents a highly progressive UI (User Interface), it adjusts easily and comfortably according to the size of the screen, whether you are using a desktop or a smartphone.

Key Features

• Supports all file types and the metadata
• Gives preview images of your attachments documents
• Comes with access to WebDAV
• Well-organized workflow for revising documents & for approval

Pros

• Due to indexing, full-text search functionality
• Improved workflow management

Cons

• It is not a cloud-based version
• Deficiency of features like advanced search & collaborative working

OpenDocMan

An OpenDocMan document management system is a valuable addition to the list. With written in PHP, this DMS can run on any type of web server that is PHP5 supported. This software is well-matched with the MySQL5 database being completely web-based. Its functions work seamlessly on all operating systems. Furthermore, the one best feature of OpenDocMan is an automatic installer with an updater for effective usage.

Key Features

• Works better with all kinds of file
• It gives metadata with categorization support
• Gives revision history & file ending features
• Comes with an automatic document review procedure

Pros

• Extremely it’s a lightweight solution for documents
• Possible to handle network & hardware, saving on cloud and infrastructure costs
• Accessibility of versioning to evade overwriting & losing edits

Cons

• Lacks features like electronic signatures, collaboration, OCR, etc. which are important for DMS that used for businesses

Google Docs

Google Docs is also the most common free DMS that is easily available in the market. It is a cloud-based software that allows you to save or keep all your important documents in its cloud interface.

Plus, it can be easily accessed from any type of browser irrespective of the platform if you have your Gmail account.

It permits you to get full control over all your important documents and with utmost efficiency manage them. Furthermore, while using Google Docs you will add as many users at one time as you want.

Key Features

• It’s compatible with smartphones as well as desktop
• Gives you access to control its features
• Permits you to store and manage documents without any trouble
• It’s come with an instinctive dashboard

Pros

• Very easy to learn & easy to use solution
• Higher availability due to the cloud-based that followed by Google Docs
• Import-export wide range of files for improved compatibility

Cons

• Restricted customizability
• With Google Docs, you cannot get self-hosting

Bitrix24

Accessible on the cloud along with on-premise, Bitrix24 is certainly one of the best free DMS (Document Management Systems) out there. With its data centers placed in the Ireland and USA, Bitrix24 software permits you to store & manage all your files without any difficulty.

It allows managing all different files types containing galleries, wikis, calendars, and so on. It also helps you with WebDAV support for best functioning.

Key Features

• On both iOS & Andriod, works easily
• Gives you both on-premise & cloud server storage
• Permits you to work together and better with your colleagues
• Offers regular free documents backups

Pros

• Availability of advanced features along with collaboration tools
• Cloud & private cloud, or self-hosted modes are available
• Local and Online document editing support

Cons

• Needs to improved mobile support to make the better system that accessible from anywhere

Krystal DMS

Krystal DMS is another highly innovative document management system that you can opt for. The software offers advanced features like indexing, detailed audit, and multilingual support which help you to manage your documents without any trouble.

Key Features

• Offers proper email management.
• It allows you to control access.
• Provides you with the OCR feature.
• Comes with a feature of your workflow management

Pros

• Document scanning and indexing services are available along with a document management system to make the offering comprehensive
• Advanced search, indexing, version control, OCR capabilities
• Private cloud, cloud, and on-premise setup modes

Cons

• Unavailability of document collaboration tools
• Lack of mobile support

LogicalDoc

Available in both community and professional, the LogicalDoc is also a great free DMS that you can use for your documentations.

The community edition is presented with the GNU license. It is free to download. This software delivers you many different features and makes it easy to manage your documents or files.

Key Features

• It delivers a multilingual desktop & web interface
• This permits you to import the data from ZIP archives
• It has an internal system of messaging
• Comes with excellent policies of security

Pros

• Features availability like digital watermarking and integrated HTML editor
• Capabilities of Multilingual full-text indexing
• Transfiguration to various file formats is possible
• Customizable the branding to suit your business requirements

Cons

• Slow performance when indexing the comparatively larger set of documents
• Issues of browser compatibility

Mayan EDMS

The Mayan EDMS is a highly automated document management system that you can easily use for your purposes.

Encoded in Python, this software works on the framework of the Django web application. It offers you an automated vault to store and all your documents management.

Key Features

• It offers documentation of API
• Supports all types of files
• It has a well-organized dashboard
• Permits you to manage users and groups easily

Pros

• Document versioning to keep track of the many versions
• With an advanced permission system, granular access management
• Support the mobile devices with a responsive design
• Links for modest cross-referencing among documents

Cons

• Lacks of support for concurrent document editing, Signature generation, and

OCR-based search, which is necessary for businesses in the DMS.

Conclusion

A lot of free and open-source DMS are available. We mentioned some of the best accessible DMS, regardless of the complexity or size of your business.

Well, we conclude a list of top and the best open-source DMS. Check the list carefully and choose the one that will help to bring the most effective way to your workflow.