Paperless-AI vs Unstract
Short answer
Paperless-AI: AI auto-tagging and document chat for Paperless-ngx (currently unmaintained). Unstract: No-code LLM platform that turns invoices, forms and other documents into structured JSON. Both are in our Document processing category.
Choose Paperless-AI if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)).
Choose Unstract if you want: an actively maintained project (Paperless-AI is stale).
Paperless-AI 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
Paperless-AI vs Unstract side by side
| Paperless-AI | Unstract | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document processing | Document processing |
| What it is | AI auto-tagging and document chat for Paperless-ngx (currently unmaintained). | No-code LLM platform that turns invoices, forms and other documents into structured JSON. |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| License type | Permissive | Network copyleft (AGPL) |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the copyright notice. | Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify Unstract and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source code under AGPL-3.0. |
| Status | Stale (no commit in 180+ days) | Active |
| GitHub stars | 6.0k | 7.3k |
| Last commit | Mar 31, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Latest release | v3.0.9 | v0.197.0 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | 8 GB RAM |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | Not required by the platform itself; LLMs are reached through the provider you configure (cloud API or a local server such as Ollama). |
| Est. server cost | Not estimated | from €35.99/mo |
| Deploy method | Docker | Docker Compose (run-platform.sh) |
| Known gotchas | 2 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | On by default |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only (OIDC paid · SAML paid) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Not documented | Not documented |
| Details | Full Paperless-AI guide → | Full Unstract guide → |
Key differences
- License: Paperless-AI: MIT (Permissive). Unstract: AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)).
- Official hardware: Paperless-AI: not published. Unstract: minimum 8 GB RAM.
- GPU: Paperless-AI: not required or not stated. Unstract: optional / see notes.
- Est. server cost: Paperless-AI: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Unstract: from €35.99/mo.
- Deploy: Paperless-AI: Docker · multi-container stack. Unstract: Docker Compose (run-platform.sh) · multi-container stack.
- Status: Paperless-AI: Stale (no commit in 180+ days). Unstract: Active.
- GitHub stars: Paperless-AI: 6.0k. Unstract: 7.3k.
- Last commit: Paperless-AI: Mar 31, 2026. Unstract: Oct 26, 2026.
- Latest release: Paperless-AI: v3.0.9 (Nov 4, 2025). Unstract: v0.197.0 (Oct 25, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Document processing.
Paperless-AI vs Unstract: FAQ
Paperless-AI or Unstract: which should a small business choose?
Choose Paperless-AI if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)). Choose Unstract if you want: an actively maintained project (Paperless-AI is stale). Paperless-AI publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, Paperless-AI or Unstract?
Paperless-AI: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Unstract: from €35.99/mo. 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 Paperless-AI and Unstract need?
Paperless-AI: not published. Unstract: minimum 8 GB RAM.
What is the license difference between Paperless-AI and Unstract?
Paperless-AI: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the copyright notice. Unstract: AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)). Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify Unstract and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source code under AGPL-3.0. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is Paperless-AI or Unstract more actively maintained?
Paperless-AI: Stale (no commit in 180+ days), last commit Mar 31, 2026. Unstract: Active, last commit Oct 26, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 26, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, Paperless-AI or Unstract?
Paperless-AI installs via Docker (multi-container stack); Unstract via Docker Compose (run-platform.sh) (multi-container stack). Paperless-AI lists 2 known gotchas and Unstract lists 4; see each app page.
Related
Sources
- Paperless-AI GitHub repository: github.com/clusterzx/paperless-ai
- Paperless-AI documentation: github.com/clusterzx/paperless-ai/wiki/2.-Installation
- Paperless-AI license: github.com/clusterzx/paperless-ai/blob/main/LICENSE
- Paperless-AI hardware requirements, Paperless-AI deploy instructions: github.com/clusterzx/paperless-ai#readme
- Unstract GitHub repository: github.com/Zipstack/unstract
- Unstract documentation: docs.unstract.com/unstract/unstract_platform/quick_start
- Unstract license: github.com/Zipstack/unstract/blob/main/LICENSE
- Unstract hardware requirements, Unstract deploy instructions: github.com/Zipstack/unstract#readme
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-26): 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.