5 Best Free Document Management Software for your Team
Mariam Ispiryan • Sep 13, 2022 • 13 min read
Have you ever found yourself scrambling to find an important document? Or wondered if someone on your team had the most up-to-date version of a project file?
If you're like most business owners, your documents are scattered across multiple devices and folders and stored in unorganized ways. That makes it highly inconvenient to access and share them. And if you're collaborating with a team, tracking who made what changes and when can be nearly impossible.
A document management system (DMS) can help you solve these problems and boost your productivity. But how do you know which one to choose?
There are many different types of DMS solutions on the market, and their features vary widely. Some are designed for large enterprises, while others are more suited for small businesses or teams. So to make your decision easier, we've compiled a list of the best free document management software.
Table of Contents
- What makes for the best free document management solution?
- How can document management software help you?
- 5 free document management software options
- Softr: Best for DIY
- OpenDocuMan: Best for hosting with support
- Hightail: Best for creative teams
- OpenKM: Best for integrations
- MasterControl: Best for enterprise compliance
Streamline your document workflows with Softr
With our no-code platform, you can customize your document management system to fit your specific needs.
What makes for the best free document management solution?
When considering which document management software to use for your business, it's essential to keep in mind the features that are most important to you.
Do you need a solution that can be integrated with your existing systems? Are you looking for something cloud-based or on-premises? Do you need advanced security features, or is a basic security setup sufficient?
Here are a few features to look out for:
- Security: Robust security features, such as user authentication, data encryption, and access control, are essential for any document management system. If you're handling sensitive business documents or data, you'll want to ensure that your DMS has the necessary security measures to protect your information.
- Ease of use: Little to no training should be required to use your document management software of choice. The user interface should be intuitive and easy to navigate.
- Scalability: Your document management system should be able to accommodate your future growth. Especially if you're planning on expanding your team or adding new locations, make sure the DMS you choose is easily scalable.
- No hidden fees: Many document management software solutions have hidden costs, such as support fees or licenses for additional features. Be sure to read the fine print before committing to a solution to avoid any unexpected charges down the road.
- Workflow automation: Automating tasks like document approvals and file organization can save you a significant amount of time.
- Integrations: The ability to integrate with other business systems, such as your customer relationship management (CRM) or enterprise resource planning (ERP), is a valuable feature to look for in a DMS.
- Project management: Some document management systems include project management features, such as task lists, a calendar, Gantt charts, and Kanban boards. If you're looking for an all-in-one solution, these may be features to consider.
How can document management software help you?
There are many ways document management systems can help your business from both a productivity and security standpoint. Here's how:
1. Save time and resources
A document management system can automate tasks that would otherwise have to be done manually, such as document approvals, file organization, and version control.
Softr’s document portal template lets you store and manage your documents in one intuitive place.
With a document portal built with Softr, you can set up rules and workflows to automatically route files to relevant team members for review and approval. This can save you a significant amount of time and resources as you won't need to manually keep track of who needs to see which documents.
2. Improve security
With features like user authentication, data encryption, and access control, a document management system can help you keep your files and information safe and secure. This is especially important if you're handling sensitive data like financial reports, employee records, or customer details.
Softr’s employee intranet portal template helps you streamline internal communications and processes.
With Softr, you can easily create employee intranet portals where your team members can access all the documents and files they need without having to search through email attachments or shared drives. And with our secure access feature, you can rest assured that only authorized users will be able to view your documents.
3. Boost productivity
By giving users quick and easy access to the documents they need, a document management system can help boost productivity across your organization.
For example, if you have a sales team, they'll be able to find your company’s most up-to-date price lists and product information quickly. Or if you have remote workers, they'll be able to access files from anywhere and any time without having to search through multiple folders on their hard drives. This lets teams of all different kinds work more efficiently and ultimately more productively.
4. Improve collaboration
A central repository for all your organization's files is especially helpful for distributed teams as they can all access the same files regardless of their location. And with features like commenting, version control, and real-time editing, team members can easily collaborate on documents without having to worry about losing track of changes.
5 free document management software options
While most document management systems use similar technology, there are several key differences among products that you should take into account when choosing a solution for your business. Here are six free document management software solutions to consider:
1. Softr: Best for self-hosting
Softr is a no-code builder that lets you create web apps, websites, and landing pages tailored to your needs.
Softr is an open-source DMS solution that lets you build a no-code document portal with its ready-to-use templates and drag-and-drop builder. You can easily organize and keep track of all your business’s most important files, and real-time sync ensures that everyone’s always working with the most up-to-date version of a document.
Softr also offers project management features with its Airtable integration and lets you create intranets for small businesses to share files and communicate with your team. You can also add your own custom branding like your company logo to give your portal a professional look and feel.
Softr has a powerful integration stack that spans analytics and email marketing, and even offers custom API development to connect with any other software you use.
Pros:
- Free plan for small businesses, and paid plans that are easy to scale to meet the needs of larger organizations.
- Easy-to-use templates
- Integrates with a wide range of other business software, including CRM, ERP, and analytics solutions.
- Roles and permission levels ensure that only appropriate team members have access to sensitive files.
Cons:
- The free plan is limited to 200 Airtable records
Streamline your document workflows with Softr
With our no-code platform, you can customize your document management system to fit your specific needs.
2. OpenDocMan: Best for hosting with support
OpenDocMan lets you systemize your documents.
OpenDocMan is an open-source document management software that allows you to store documents online, collaborate on projects, and access your files anywhere. With OpenDocMan, you can easily manage your documents and make sure everyone involved knows what changes are being made. You can even send files directly to collaborators without having to download them locally though their cloud-storage feature. This makes it easy to work together on large projects, whether you're collaborating remotely or in person.
Pros:
- ‘Check-out feature’ enables versioning and avoids overwriting.
- It is a lightweight solution that saves on infrastructure or cloud costs.
Cons:
- Search functionality is limited as it only allows for document navigation with metadata.
- Custom document workflows aren’t included in the free plan.
- Interface can be difficult to navigate for self-hosting.
3. Hightail: Best for creative teams
Hightail protects your content with password encryption and access permission
While other software mostly focus on businesses, Hightail was specifically designed for creative teams. It enables users to track document delivery and content downloads so you know exactly who opened your files and when. You can also protect your documents with password encryption and set expiration dates.
Pros:
- Provided added security for sending files like access code, expiration date, and notification when files are downloaded.
- The free plan allows for sending files up to 100MB and 25GB per send with the pro plan.
- Real-time messaging makes for easy collaboration.
Cons:
- Gets expensive as your user count increases.
- Free version only lets you share files up to 100 MB.
4. OpenKM: Best for integrations
OpenKM’s reporting feature lets you monitor and keep track of your document workflow.
OpenKM captures unstructured information from digital sources like emails, social media accounts, and web pages. Users have the accessibility to edit, and browse these documents which are stored and can be viewed in one workspace. You can also integrate the software with third-party applications like CRMs, ERPs, and accounting systems.
Pros:
- Automatically organizes documents into folders and subfolders.
- Offers security like role-based authentication, permissions, SSL, cryptography, and electronic signature.
- API integration connects with other software hassle-free.
Cons:
- Interface isn’t very user-friendly.
- The community version has limited tech support and requires a hands-on IT team.
- Search feature makes it difficult to navigate and find specific documents.
5. MasterControl: Best for enterprise compliance
MasterControl helps users improve on their compliance and quality standards.
Aerospace, automotive, and other regulated industries can rely on MasterControl as a solution that can handle any kind of law or regulation. It offers key features like document control, audit management, compliance management, track audit trail, full-text search functionality, version control, document delivery, indexing, and collaboration tools.
Pros:
- Emphasizes security and control with password encryption, document expiry and permissions.
- Insights on who has read documents and how much time they spent doing so.
- Ready-to-use templates for all use cases that are automatically optimized for web and mobile apps.
- Digital signatures enable for authenticity of the document.
Cons:
- Adopting the system can be complex and time-consuming.
- Pricing plans aren’t readily available on the website.
How to choose the perfect document management system
Depending on your needs, one document management system might be a better fit than another. Here are some factors to consider when making your decision:
1. Size of your business
If you're a small business with fewer than 50 employees, you'll probably want a document management system that's easy to set up and doesn't require much IT support. On the other hand, a medium-sized business with 50-500 employees might need a solution that’s easy to scale and can handle a larger number of users and documents.
2. Document workflow
How do your documents move through your organization? Do you have a simple, linear workflow or a more complex, multi-step process?
For example, a law firm’s document workflow might involve complex steps like reviewing, editing, and approving documents before filing. But a small business’s workflow might be simpler and simply involve creating and storing documents in a central location.
Both situations require a document management system that can support specific workflows.
3. Security
When it comes to documents, security is always a top concern. You'll want to choose a document management system that offers features like password protection, encrypted document storage, and role-based access control. These features will help you keep your documents safe from unauthorized access and data breaches.
4. Ability to store various file types
Not all document management systems can store all types of files. Most DMS solutions are limited to storing just a few file types, such as Microsoft Word, PDF, Excel, and PowerPoint. This limitation makes it difficult for organizations to effectively manage many different kinds of documents throughout their enterprise. If you need to store images, videos, or CAD files in addition to standard documents, you'll need to find a system that can accommodate them as well.
Which free document management software is best?
It can get overwhelming trying to choose the right document management system for your business. But by taking the time to understand your needs, you can narrow down your options and find the perfect solution for your organization.
And if you're looking for a customized solution, create your own no-code document portal with Softr. Simply connect your Airtable base and use templates to drag and drop your way to a beautiful, professional document management solution that's fully branded and integrated with your existing systems.
Streamline your document workflows with Softr
With our no-code platform, you can customize your document management system to fit your specific needs.
Frequently asked questions about free document management
You can manage all your documents with a document management software like Softr (try out our platform for free!). It can help you organize, store, track, and edit documents, as well as control who has access to your files and what they can do with them. Softr is also highly customizable and can be tailored to fit your specific needs, no special technical knowledge required.
The best document management software depends on your specific needs. Our list of some of the top options includes: - Softr: Best for DIY - OpenDocuMan: Best for hosting with support - Hightail: Best for creative teams - OpenKM: Best for integrations - MasterControl: Best for enterprise compliance
The best way to manage your documents is by using document management software (DMS). Such a tool can help you organize, share, track, and edit your documents. You can also use a DMS to set up special user permissions, so you can control who has access to your documents and what they can do with them.
