DocumentServer vs Etherpad
DocumentServer and Etherpad are both office suite software. DocumentServer is open source under AGPL-3.0, with 7.1k GitHub stars. Etherpad is open source under Apache-2.0, with 19k GitHub stars.
Which to pick
- Pick DocumentServer when
- You want browser-based Office-compatible editing on your own servers.
- Pick Etherpad when
- You want a self-hosted shared notepad for meetings, drafting or public-sector work where authorship and history matter more than rich formatting.
Side by side
ONLYOFFICE Docs, an online office suite for editing Word, Excel, PowerPoint, forms and PDF files collaboratively in the browser, integrated with Nextcloud and other platforms.
A web-based real-time collaborative text editor that colours each author's text, keeps every revision and lets you replay a document's history with a timeslider.
The free edition caps simultaneous connections, so larger teams need a paid edition.
Formatting and layout are basic compared with Google Docs, and the project says it is run by a small volunteer team looking for maintainers.
Production-ready (both)
Self-hosted server and cloud service
Self-hosted server
JavaScript, C++ and Node.js
TypeScript, Node.js and PostgreSQL
Open source, AGPL-3.0 (network copyleft)
Open source, Apache-2.0 (permissive)
Use inside your business is unrestricted. If you change it and let customers use it over the internet, you must publish your changes.
You can build it into a product you sell, as long as you keep its copyright notice.
7.1k GitHub stars
19k GitHub stars
Established: started 12 years ago, latest release v10.0.0.
Established: started 15 years ago, latest release v3.3.13.
Other comparisons
More office suites and document editors
Both sides were judged on 2026-11-03 from each project's README and GitHub data. License, age and popularity lines are worked out directly.