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Elgg vs Paperless-ngx

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Elgg and Paperless-ngx — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:open-sourceself-hosted

Elgg vs Paperless-ngx: at a glance

FeatureElggPaperless-ngx
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesopen-source, social-networking, self-hosted, phpdocument-management, self-hosted, workflows, security
Last editorial update15d ago12h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Elgg?

Elgg ships paired 7.1.2 and 6.3.9 patches: both branches stay in maintenance mode.

Elgg is a mature open-source PHP framework for self-hosted community platforms. The 7.0 major shipped in May 2026, and 7.1.0 in September added invitation-only groups, header images for generic entities and a MariaDB recommendation. 7.1.1 fixed profile access display and trash recovery, and on October 21 Elgg shipped 7.1.2 and 6.3.9 together, both with no release notes beyond the contributor list.

Read the full Elgg trajectory →

What is Paperless-ngx?

Paperless-ngx follows its busy October with a fixes-only 3.4.2

Paperless-ngx ran from 3.3.0 to 3.4.1 in October, with two security releases and a 3.4.0 feature drop: custom fields in workflow title templates, relative-date queries, skipping local 2FA for trusted OIDC logins, poppler thumbnails and markdown in AI chat. 3.4.2 on 3 November is fixes and dependency updates, mostly mobile document-detail UX and Celery task handling.

Read the full Paperless-ngx trajectory →

Elgg vs Paperless-ngx: editorial side-by-side

E
Elgg
COLLAB
5.0

Elgg ships paired 7.1.2 and 6.3.9 patches: both branches stay in maintenance mode.

◆ Current state

Elgg is a mature open-source PHP framework for self-hosted community platforms. The 7.0 major shipped in May 2026, and 7.1.0 in September added invitation-only groups, header images for generic entities and a MariaDB recommendation. 7.1.1 fixed profile access display and trash recovery, and on October 21 Elgg shipped 7.1.2 and 6.3.9 together, both with no release notes beyond the contributor list.

◆ Where it's heading

Elgg follows a predictable cadence: a feature minor, then single-digit patch releases, with paired backports on the 6.3 branch. The 7.1 features centred on finer access control and generic entity handling, and the follow-up patches stay in those areas. The project favours stability over pace.

◆ Prediction

More 7.1.x patches are likely, released in pairs with 6.3.x as happened again today. The entries give no signal about what a 7.2 would contain.

P5.0

Paperless-ngx follows its busy October with a fixes-only 3.4.2

◆ Current state

Paperless-ngx ran from 3.3.0 to 3.4.1 in October, with two security releases and a 3.4.0 feature drop: custom fields in workflow title templates, relative-date queries, skipping local 2FA for trusted OIDC logins, poppler thumbnails and markdown in AI chat. 3.4.2 on 3 November is fixes and dependency updates, mostly mobile document-detail UX and Celery task handling.

◆ Where it's heading

The project is in a stabilization phase after 3.4.0, with patch releases every few days cleaning up UI regressions and dependencies. Feature work lands in minor releases roughly monthly.

◆ Prediction

More 3.4.x patches are likely before the next minor; the entries do not indicate what 3.5 will contain.

Alternatives to Elgg and Paperless-ngx

Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Elgg or Paperless-ngx.

See all Elgg alternatives → · See all Paperless-ngx alternatives →

Recent activity from Elgg and Paperless-ngx

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.4.2 fixes mobile UI and task handling
  2. 5d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.4.1 fixes UI regressions from 3.4.0
  3. 6d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.4.0 adds relative-date queries and OIDC 2FA skip
  4. 13d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.3.4 updates dependencies for security fixes
  5. 15d agoElggElgg 7.1.2: small patch, paired with 6.3.9, no notes
  6. 15d agoElggElgg 6.3.9: paired backport patch for the 6.x line, no notes
  7. 17d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.3.3 fixes search layout and subpath redirects
  8. 20d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.3.2 fixes a permissions security issue
  9. 27d agoElggElgg 7.1.1 fixes profile access display, trash recovery and theming
  10. 1mo agoElggElgg 7.1.0: invitation-only groups and MariaDB becomes the recommended database
  11. 2mo agoElggElgg 7.0.5
  12. 2mo agoElggElgg 6.3.8

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Elgg and Paperless-ngx?

Both compete on the same themes — open-source, self-hosted — within Collab. Elgg and Paperless-ngx are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Elgg better than Paperless-ngx?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Elgg and Paperless-ngx are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Elgg?

Top Elgg alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Elgg alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/elgg for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Paperless-ngx?

Top Paperless-ngx alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Paperless-ngx alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/paperless-ngx for the full list with editorial commentary on each.