MinerU vs Paperless-ngx
Short answer
MinerU: Document parser that converts PDFs, scans and Office files into clean Markdown or JSON for LLMs and RAG. Paperless-ngx: Document management system that OCRs scans into a searchable archive, auto-tags them and adds optional LLM suggestions and chat. Both are in our Document processing category.
Choose MinerU if you want: larger community (82.8k vs 47.3k GitHub stars).
Paperless-ngx publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
MinerU vs Paperless-ngx side by side
| MinerU | Paperless-ngx | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document processing | Document processing |
| What it is | Document parser that converts PDFs, scans and Office files into clean Markdown or JSON for LLMs and RAG. | Document management system that OCRs scans into a searchable archive, auto-tags them and adds optional LLM suggestions and chat. |
| License | MinerU Open Source License (Apache-2.0 with additional terms) | GPL-3.0 |
| License type | Custom / conditional | Copyleft (GPL) |
| License conditions | Commercial use is allowed without a separate license, unless you and your affiliates exceed 100 million monthly active users or USD 20 million monthly revenue. If you offer an online service to third parties based on MinerU, you must state prominently that it uses MinerU. | Free for internal and commercial use. If you distribute a modified version you must release it under GPL-3.0; running it for your own team is not distribution. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 82.8k | 47.3k |
| Last commit | Oct 30, 2026 | Oct 29, 2026 |
| Latest release | mineru-4.1.2-released | v3.4.0 |
| Minimum hardware | 2 GB RAM | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Optional. The basic tier runs ONNX models on CPU; the standard/advanced tiers work on CPU with 8 GB RAM (Vulkan recommended). PyTorch and vLLM/lmdeploy engines need a GPU with 8 GB+ VRAM and 16 GB RAM. The official Docker image targets NVIDIA GPUs only. | No. OCR and the built-in classifier run on CPU; LLM features call the provider you configure. |
| Est. server cost | from €11.99/mo | Not estimated |
| Deploy method | Python package (uv/pip) with web UI; Docker Compose for NVIDIA GPUs | Docker Compose (official install script) |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | On by default | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Free (OIDC free) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Yes, free |
| RBAC | Not documented | Not documented |
| Details | Full MinerU guide → | Full Paperless-ngx guide → |
Key differences
- License: MinerU: MinerU Open Source License (Apache-2.0 with additional terms) (Custom / conditional). Paperless-ngx: GPL-3.0 (Copyleft (GPL)).
- Official hardware: MinerU: minimum 2 GB RAM. Paperless-ngx: not published.
- Est. server cost: MinerU: from €11.99/mo. Paperless-ngx: not estimated (no official RAM figure).
- Deploy: MinerU: Python package (uv/pip) with web UI; Docker Compose for NVIDIA GPUs · multi-container stack. Paperless-ngx: Docker Compose (official install script) · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: MinerU: 82.8k. Paperless-ngx: 47.3k.
- Last commit: MinerU: Oct 30, 2026. Paperless-ngx: Oct 29, 2026.
- Latest release: MinerU: mineru-4.1.2-released (Oct 29, 2026). Paperless-ngx: v3.4.0 (Oct 29, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Document processing; GPU: optional / see notes; Status: Active.
MinerU vs Paperless-ngx: FAQ
MinerU or Paperless-ngx: which should a small business choose?
Choose MinerU if you want: larger community (82.8k vs 47.3k GitHub stars). Paperless-ngx publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, MinerU or Paperless-ngx?
MinerU: from €11.99/mo. Paperless-ngx: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Our estimate is the cheapest Hetzner Cloud plan that meets each project's official RAM and vCPU figure; it covers the server only.
How much hardware do MinerU and Paperless-ngx need?
MinerU: minimum 2 GB RAM. Paperless-ngx: not published.
What is the license difference between MinerU and Paperless-ngx?
MinerU: MinerU Open Source License (Apache-2.0 with additional terms) (Custom / conditional). Commercial use is allowed without a separate license, unless you and your affiliates exceed 100 million monthly active users or USD 20 million monthly revenue. If you offer an online service to third parties based on MinerU, you must state prominently that it uses MinerU. Paperless-ngx: GPL-3.0 (Copyleft (GPL)). Free for internal and commercial use. If you distribute a modified version you must release it under GPL-3.0; running it for your own team is not distribution. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is MinerU or Paperless-ngx more actively maintained?
MinerU: Active, last commit Oct 30, 2026. Paperless-ngx: Active, last commit Oct 29, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 30, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, MinerU or Paperless-ngx?
MinerU installs via Python package (uv/pip) with web UI; Docker Compose for NVIDIA GPUs (multi-container stack); Paperless-ngx via Docker Compose (official install script) (multi-container stack). MinerU lists 4 known gotchas and Paperless-ngx lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- MinerU self-hosting guide · Paperless-ngx self-hosting guide
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- All Paperless-ngx alternatives, ranked
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- Docling Serve vs Paperless-ngx
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- MinerU vs Paperless-AI
- MinerU vs paperless-gpt
- MinerU vs Unstract
- PaddleOCR vs Paperless-ngx
- Paperless-AI vs Paperless-ngx
- paperless-gpt vs Paperless-ngx
- Paperless-ngx vs Unstract
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- MinerU GitHub repository: github.com/opendatalab/MinerU
- MinerU documentation, MinerU deploy instructions: opendatalab.github.io/MinerU/quick_start/
- MinerU license: github.com/opendatalab/MinerU/blob/master/LICENSE.md
- MinerU hardware requirements: github.com/opendatalab/MinerU#model-engines-with-extras
- Paperless-ngx GitHub repository: github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx
- Paperless-ngx documentation, Paperless-ngx deploy instructions: github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx/blob/main/docs/setup.md
- Paperless-ngx license: github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx/blob/dev/LICENSE
- Paperless-ngx hardware requirements: github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx/blob/main/docs/faq.md
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-25): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub REST API (stars, commits, releases): docs.github.com/en/rest
Every value is generated from the same verified data as the app pages. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.