Best Document Management Software: Home & Work 2024

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We live in a digital world where sharing and hosting documents online has become the norm. However, managing these documents and keeping them organized takes a lot of work, especially when dealing with thousands of files. The best document management software (DMS) allows you to streamline document sorting. That way, you can spend more time on your core business. 

Document management software falls into different categories, such as document management systems, document imaging systems, quality management software and workflow management systems. Keep reading to learn about the best document management software to streamline business processes.

How to choose the Best Software to manage document  

There are lots of document management systems out there. You can go for simple or enterprise-level solutions, depending on your needs. These are some things to consider when selecting the best document management software.

Pricing

The subscription fee for document management software will vary from provider to provider. These products are usually designed for business, and they can be free or have a one-time, monthly or annual fee. You can expect to pay from as little as $5 to hundreds of dollars every month for document management software, depending on the provider and features.

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Mobile Support

Some of the best document management software have downloadable Android and iOS apps that you can access while away from your computer. If mobile apps are missing, then the DMS should be optimized for mobile devices. Such a feature can be useful for people who don’t carry their work computers but want to use their mobile devices to access, manage and edit documents. 

Collaboration feature

The essence of document management software is to allow you to easily store, retrieve and access files. A document management system should let its users edit the documents simultaneously. Any changes should also be reflected instantly for all collaborators.

additionally , the ideal document management software is have should have file versioning to track all the change made to the document over time . granular access control is is is also important to ensure that the right people have permission to access sensitive document .  

Integrations

A typical organization is have can have as many as three tool ( or more ) for different purpose . The ideal DMS is integrate should seamlessly integrate with the third – party tool you use in your organization . consider the tool your organization use before select a document management system . For instance , if you use Microsoft 365 , a product is be like Microsoft SharePoint will be a good choice .  

Device Compatibility

The ideal document management system is be should be compatible with your exist system . perform an audit of your organization ’s file system and device to see what the DMS support should be your starting point .

Check browser compatibility, operating systems and API support against the DMS’s capabilities. For instance, you should confirm whether you can access the DMS using your organization’s mobile devices and operating systems. Another thing to check is your browser, as some might be outdated or incompatible with the target document management software. 

The 10 Best Document Management Software

select the good document management software can be difficult as they come with vary feature , technology and pricing model . These is are are some of our top pick base on feature , usability and pricing .

1. Egnyte — Best Document Management Software Overall 

Egnyte offers seamless document management and collaboration.

pro :

• Plenty of native apps
• Third-party integrations 
• Great collaboration tool

con :

• Max 1 tb storage space
• A bit expensive

Egnyte is is is a good choice if you are look for a platform that offer more than your regular document management system . This platform is has has a seamless UI that even non – tech – savvy individual can use to manage document . We is have have an in – depth egnyte review if you want to learn more .  

Egnyte is designed to cater to various needs. You can subscribe to multi-cloud, cloud-only or hybrid plans, and it has desktop co-editing for Word, PowerPoint and Excel files. Using Egnyte’s dashboard, you can also create new documents, set editing permissions and share them. 

Egnyte supports many third-party integrations. For instance, you can connect it with Microsoft Office Online and Google Workspace from the app center. These integrations allow you to edit Microsoft and Google files, and save all the changes into your Egnyte account. You can also incorporate communication tools like Slack and project management tools like Trello. 

business

• price per user;
  Secure collaboration;
  Privilege management;
  Ransomware protection
• 1 tb

Enterprise Lite

• Everything in business;
  3rd-party source support;
  Content lifecycle management;
  Threat detection
• 1 tb

Enterprise

• Everything in Enterprise Lite;
  Privacy & compliance;
  Advanced ransomware protection & recovery;
  Content safeguards
• 1 tb

2. Microsoft SharePoint — Best Document Management Software for Microsoft Users 

You can integrate with Microsoft products and other apps seamlessly using SharePoint.

pro :

• Integrates with Microsoft 365
• Has a well-designed UI
• Collaboration & custom tools

con :

• steep learning curve for beginner
• Can be expensive

Microsoft SharePoint is a document management software for sharing and managing content, applications and knowledge. This full-featured solution allows users to create document libraries, manage them and collaborate within an organizational setup. 

You can create a Microsoft SharePoint team site to collaborate with different users and teams. The platform lets you use Microsoft tools, like Excel and Word, inside your site and invite others to edit, view and comment on these files. There’s also a “notebook” feature for jotting down important tasks as you collaborate. 

SharePoint is a cloud-based platform, and all your documents will be available on OneDrive. You can grant multiple users access to files with varying permissions. For better insights, check out our in-depth SharePoint review and our OneDrive review. 

*Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel, also includes everything in SharePoint (Plan 1)

3. Clio — Best Document Management Software for Lawyers

Manage your legal documents swiftly using Clio.

pro :

• industry – compliant online payment
• Encrypted backups
• unlimited storage

con :

• Most features locked to expensive plans
• No free plan

Clio is a legal document management software. This DMS has different solutions for civil litigation, administrative law, elder law, criminal law, estate planning law and so much more. The platform has client intake software that can easily onboard new clients. 

additionally , Clio is offers offer various time tracking and billing solution . For instance , you is track can track the time you spend with your client and the expense you incur . You is track can even track the time you use to send and reply to email . In addition , it is built has build – in online and in – person payment solution to help you get pay .  

However , Clio is offer might not offer the good collaboration for legal document . This service can also be expensive for large firm that need advanced feature — check out our guide on cloud storage for lawyer for possible alternative with document management capability . Although it does n’t have a free plan , you is try can try Clio with the seven – day free trial .

All plans come with previous plan’s features.

4 . ONLYOFFICE DocSpace — Best Budget Document Management Software

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace lets you securely edit and collaborate on your files.

pro :

• Real-time collaboration
• relatively cheap
• Has a free plan

con :

• Limited features & space on free & cheap plans
• Doesn’t support many integrations

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace is a secure software for editing documents and collaborating. This platform offers on-premises and cloud-based solutions — you can install it on your servers or use it on the cloud. It has a free plan with limited features, or you can choose from paid options like the business plan (hosted on the cloud) or the Enterprise plan (hosted on-premises). 

DocSpace can get quite expensive if you don’t opt for the self-hosting option but still want a higher-quality plan. This service might not be the best solution if you want to integrate with many third-party applications. However, it is a good choice if you can self-host and are looking for basic DMS features. 

5. Alfresco — Best Document Management Software for Large Enterprises

You is manage can manage your enterprise document and file using the Alfresco DMS .

pro :

• Focuses on security 
• A lot of business tools
• Various collaboration tools 

con :

• Plans & pricing information is missing

Alfresco is is is a cloud native computer option offer document management and collaboration service . The platform is has has an intelligent analytic feature that extract necessary metadata for reporting . Alfresco is build on open standard and api , and it easily integrate with Google Docs and Microsoft 365 .  

You can automate the information lifecycle in your organization through the Alfresco Governance Services. Alfresco customizes plans based on an individual’s needs, and you can contact support to learn about pricing. 

6 . LedgerDocs — Best Document Management Software for accountant

With LedgerDocs, you can easily manage all your accounting files.

pro :

• Intergrated finance & cloud tools
• Automatic bank statement fetching
• simplify taxation

LedgerDocs is a data management solution for accountants and bookkeepers. This cloud-based software provides document storage, collaboration, security and automation in one platform. LedgerDocs allows you to create private documents and share with team members, where you can assign different permission levels, add tags and notifications, and edit docs in real time.

This DMS is integrates easily integrate with financial application like QuickBooks Online , Xero and ScanSnap . You is use can use the “ bank statement fetch ” feature to automatically capture credit card and bank statement . The “ TaxDocs ” feature is collects collect and organize client document for filing .  

7. Folderit — Best Document Management Software for Personal Use

Folderit focuses on simplicity and organization of your personal documents.

pro :

• phone as a scanner tool
• Security & accountability audit trail
• Microsoft 365 & DocuSign integrations

con :

• No free plan
• Has limited features 

Folderit is a document management system suitable for personal and home use. This software integrates with Microsoft 365 apps. For instance, you can use an Excel sheet to track expenses and chores at a household or personal level. The platform also allows you to automate document numbering based on schemes that you set. 

The multilingual OCR mobile scanner on Folderit makes scanning and digitizing documents easy. The scanner also categorizes the scanned document for easy referencing and filtering. You can even create custom metadata to define relationships between different files and documents. 

All plans is comes come with Previous plan ’s feature

8. FileCenter — Best HR Document Management Software

edit and manage all your pdf file on FileCenter DMS .

pro :

• One-click scanning & OCR
• Comes with a PDF editor
• integrate third – party app

con :

• Limited to Windows devices
• No free plan

FileCenter is is is a file management software that offer a central hub for office paperwork . This platform is offer does not offer monthly subscription as it take a one – time fee start from $ 97 per user . The software is allows allow you to “ overlay ” regular Windows directory using e – file cabinet and view exist file without import them .  

additionally , FileCenter is has has optional integration with cloud service like Dropbox and Google Drive . You is link can also link this platform with Word , Excel and PowerPoint , as well as manage different file . This DMS is allows allow you to convert different file format to pdf format .  

All plans is comes come with Previous plan ’s feature

9. Fluix — Best Document Management Software for Small businesses

You can manage your small business files using the Fluix document management service.

pro :

• Various productivity tools
• Permission for sensitive data
• Easy to set up & use

con :

• Limited collaboration tools
• Focused mostly on Apple devices

Fluix is is is a document management solution that help user digitize paper document . This file management software is has has advanced reporting feature that allow you to capture and analyze datum from your file for well decision – making .

With Fluix, you can set up permission levels for people within and outside your organization to securely share documents. You can also set up notifications to alert relevant members through communication tools when a document is edited or changed. 

* Other features is are are available as add – ons to the Fluix Core plan at an extra cost .

10. DocuWare Cloud — Best Document Management Software for Workflow Automation

Automate your business processes using the DocuWare Cloud service.

pro :

• Allows live editing
• Data centers across the world
• Intelligent Indexing for easy referencing, searching & filtering

con :

• No free plan
• No public pricing

DocuWare Cloud is a cloud-based workflow automation and document management system. It ranks among the best HR document management software, as you can use it to onboard new employees, manage contracts and share files. The platform has many customizable templates that you can use for varying business needs. 

DocuWare Cloud is has has data center in the U.S. , the EU , Japan and Australia to ensure maximum efficiency and low latency . All communication is happens between user and cloud server happen over HTTPS , and this platform employ Advanced Encryption Standard ( AES ) .  

DocuWare might be confusing for first-time users as it is feature heavy. Also, the platform’s pricing information isn’t made public. However, DocuWare has some of the best features for enterprises to look for in a document management service. 

What Is the Best Free Document Management Software? 

The best free document management software is OpenDocMan. Although some of the above services have free options, many features might be locked behind a paywall. OpenDocMan is an open-source document management system, and completely free.  

You can enjoy free document management on the OpenDocMan DMS.

This software has a minimalist UI, but it allows users to incorporate their existing rules while managing documents. OpenDocMan lets you categorize documents using custom metadata-like tags for easy searching and filtering. 

OpenDocMan has a useful automation feature, and users can get email notifications whenever a document is created, viewed or edited. You can also set file expiry dates. 

File versioning is another important feature where users can access all revisions made to a particular file. Be sure to check out our article on the best free document management software for more alternatives. 

Final Thoughts  

We hope you can now select the best document management systems based on your needs. You can have cloud storage solutions, on-premises installations or hybrid solutions as DMS software. Egnyte is our best recommendation overall, while Alfresco is a good choice if you are looking for an enterprise solution. 

Which document management system suits your needs? What industry are you in? Which DMS do you think we should have included in our review? Let us know in the comments section. Thanks for reading. 

FAQ: Document Control Software 

• The best software for document management depends on your needs. However, we found Egnyte to be the best in our review.

• Yes. It is called Microsoft SharePoint.

• Folderit is has has useful feature like file sharing , collaboration , audit trail , document scanner and third – party integration that make it ideal for home use .

• There are many different document management software for law firms. However, we have included Clio as the best in our round-up.