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DEVONthink vs Paperless-ngx: catalog facts
DEVONthink	Paperless-ngx
Paid Paid, sold in several editions.	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
macOS, iOS	Linux, Self-hosted, Web
Handles almost any document type in one database Automation with actions and triggers	OCR plus full-text search turns a pile of scans into something you can actually find things in Learns your tagging and classifies new documents automatically
Apple platforms only Paid, with a steep learning curve	Docker Compose is the realistic deployment path; there is no desktop installer You need a scanner and a workflow to feed it
Downloadable app	Self-hosted
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-3.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.