Compare the 13 Best Document Management Software for 2024
A document management system (DMS) is a software system that enables an organization to track and store electronic documents and/or scanned images of paper documents. Simply put, a document management software helps large companies and small businesses alike with document workflow, file sharing, and electronic document management.
The system typically provides a central repository where documents are stored, accessed, and managed. It may also include features that allow documents to be shared internally or externally and may provide tools for document revision control and publishing.
Organizations use a document management solution for:
- Contracts
- Invoices
- Employee records
- Legal documents
- Financial documents
- Engineering drawings
- Product documentation
What Are The Features Of A Document Management System?
A document management software typically should include a suite of handy features that help businesses and their teams with a logical document workflow, easy file sharing, and efficient document management.
1. Cloud Access
A DMS should have access to upload and download documents at any time and any place.
2. Intelligent Organization
Working with multiple documents and files can be overwhelming and so organizational hierarchy and structure are important features for any document management system to help you find files quickly.
3. A user-friendly interface
Since a DMS is used on a daily basis, it’s important that the software includes a user-friendly and attractive user interface.
4. Robust search features
A document management system should include a search function that helps users to search through all of the content quickly to find the document that is required.
5. Version control
Every DMS should feature version control when it’s uploaded, allowing users to go back to the previous versions before crucial changes were made and save what might otherwise become a useless document.
6. Permissions
Permissions are necessary as a feature to restrict users from deleting or changing the location of files and documents.
7. Universal format support
A truly dynamic and robust document management system should support multiple file formats.
What is the best document management software?
1. ClickUp
Do you need a document management system that is easy to use and can be customized for any need? ClickUp offers hundreds of features, including a highly feature, ClickUp Docs.
This feature makes it easy to create and customize the perfect document for any need—from roadmaps to knowledge bases, wikis, employee handbooks, and so much more.
Its user-friendly and functional interface lets you style and format your Docs with rich editing tools, use nested pages and Doc tags to add structure to your documents, and easily locate specific documents by typing the title in the search bar, allowing you to quickly find your documents.
Additionally, the collaborative detection and editing feature in ClickUp Docs allows teams to work seamlessly together. Type away and edit without worrying about overlapping, and changes will appear in real-time and be saved automatically.
You may also use the Protect Doc feature to ensure that your documents are safe and secure from unwanted changes and restore previous versions with the page history feature. And when you're ready to share your Docs, simply use the public or private link to control who gets access to the document, or export it as a PDF, HTML, or Markdown.
And because Docs are stored within the platform, individuals and teams can easily access and integrate them with their tasks and projects, keeping their work organized and all in one place.
Best Features:
- ClickUp is fully customizable and can be configured in any way that meets your project needs.
- ClickUp has achieved the highest standards of security for customer data in software, making it a secured and reliable all-in-one project management solution that every organization can trust.
Pricing:
- Free Forever: Free
- Unlimited: $7 per member/ month
- Business: $12 per member/ month
- Business Plus: $19 per member/ month
- Enterprise: Call Sales for pricing
Sign up for ClickUp for free, no credit card required!
2. Wrike
Wrike is a collaborative project management software that offers document management features to help teams share and manage their project-related files securely. It also serves as a digital workspace, allowing teams to stay connected and informed about project changes. One of the benefits of using Wrike is that it integrates with other important business applications, like Gmail and Google Sheets, which can help automate workflows and eliminate repetitive tasks.
Type of company: Any company size can use Wrike
Best Features:
- Integration with other business-critical applications like Google Sheets and Gmail.
- Powerful document management features, ensuring the safety and security of files.
- Highly secure collaborative features, creating a valuable digital workspace for teams of any size.
Pricing:
- Free: $0 (for teams getting started)
- Team: $9.80 user/month
- Business: $24.80 user/month
- Enterprise: For large teams, contact sales.
3. Google Drive
Google Drive is one of the best and most robust document management systems that is relied upon by organizations of all scales and sizes. Google Drive offers the same functions, apps, and flexibility offered by Microsoft Office apps like Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and more. Google Drive is accessible across a host of multiple devices and offers superior version control and share-ability. The ability to create document workflows via folders and subfolders and its seamless integration with Gmail makes it a great choice for organizations and teams.
Type of company: Any organization of any size can use Google Drive, especially if they are using Gmail enterprise.
Best Features:
- One of Google Drive’s greatest features is the ability for a team to collaborate with each other on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and drawings. A team of up to 50 people can work on the same document simultaneously.
- Google Drive allows users to search for files and folders smartly. Google Drive’s search system searches for files using certain words in the title or content. Google enables easy file sharing and users can search for documents shared from a specific person, or with a particular person, or on the type of document, or for specific dates when a document was edited, and more.
Pricing:
- Free: 15GB
- Basic: 100 GB at $1.99 per month or $19.99 annually.
- Standard: 200 GB at $2.99 per month or $29.99 annually.
- Premium: 2TB at $9.99 per month or $99.99 annually.
Integrate Google Drive with ClickUp
4. Confluence
Confluence is a remote-friendly team workspace that empowers knowledge-sharing and collaboration. It can be used as an electronic document management system. Built-in features enable users to manage, version, search and organize documents. Confluence works as a smart document control software that offers an end-to-end replacement for a shared document repository. For instance, users can attach documents of any size and type to a Confluence wiki page.
Type of company: Confluence is best suited for small businesses, mid-size companies, and large-scale organizations that use a host of other document management systems.
Best Features:
- Confluence offers direct and seamless integration with other document management systems such as Box, Dropbox, and Google Drive.
- Confluence also enables users to import existing word documents to Confluence wiki pages and reduces dependence on desktop applications and their documents.
Pricing:
- Free: $0
- Standard: $5.50
- Premium: $10.50
5. PandaDoc
PandaDoc streamlines document management and automates repetitive workflows, saving you time, effort, and resources. With PandaDoc, you can easily manage your documents from anywhere, anytime, with secure access. The software also offers a centralized storage solution that helps teams in your organization search for documents effortlessly.
Type of company: From microbusinesses to SMB to Enterprise, any size company use PandaDoc
Best Features:
- Automate tedious tasks with workflows
- Easily manage documents from anywhere with secure access
- Improve team communication and collaboration
- Feel confident in the security you provide to employees and clients
Pricing:
- Essentials plan for individuals and small teams starts at $19 per month, per user, when billed annually
- Business plan for larger teams starts at $49 per month, per user, when billed annually
- Enterprise plan for larger organizations is available upon request, with custom pricing based on your requirements.
6. SharePoint
SharePoint is a great document management tool that is being used by some of the world’s largest businesses and organizations. SharePoint is considered a state-of-the-art management system by becoming a $2+ billion business. SharePoint has greatly helped organizations manage their documentation and to share information. Apart from being customizable, SharePoint helps to save a lot of time for the companies using them.
Type of company: SharePoint is perfect for organizations that are in the Microsoft ecosystem of productivity apps.
Best Features:
- SharePoint is not limited to just computers and is now available on mobile devices. This makes SharePoint a dynamic electronic document management tool.
- SharePoint is owned by Microsoft, and this makes it available as part of the Office suite and makes it compatible with the other software owned by Microsoft.
Pricing:
- SharePoint Online (Plan 1): $5.00per user per month
- SharePoint Online (Plan 2): $10.00per user per month
- Office 365 E3: $20.00 per user per month
7. Notion
Notion is an all-in-one workspace for creating notes, documents, better collaboration, and efficient project management. Tens of thousands of teams and companies around the world rely on Notion to ensure better teamwork and collaboration. Notion helps companies to create focus and transparency among teams while consolidating documents and creating a document workflow thus saving time and driving more productivity.
Type of company: Notion is perfect for teams of all sizes looking to boost collaboration and an easy way to manage documents.
Best Features:
- Notion can be customized to make it work the way you want it to. And the drag and drop functions help to customize the dashboard, website, doc, the way you need.
- Notion’s global ecosystem of creators helps to get inspiration in the form of thousands of community-made templates, integrations, and events.
Pricing:
- Free
- Personal: $4 per month (billed annually) or $5 per month (billed monthly)
- Team: $8 per month per member (billed annually) or $10 per month per member (billed monthly)
8. Dropbox For Business
Dropbox Business is a leading electronic document management platform trusted by over 300,000 business teams worldwide and a majority of the Fortune 500 for its industry-leading file sync, collaboration, and extensive administration and security features. Dropbox’s business accounts let users manage team members and folder access and offer 1TB of space, to begin with, that can then be expanded as and when needed.
Type of company: Companies of all sizes can use Dropbox Business for collaboration, file sharing, online backup, and more.
Best Features:
- Dropbox enables users and teams to back up any file, folder, or hard drive to a secure offsite storage location.
- New Dropbox admin features enable companies to simplify team management, support data security, and compliance, and gain actionable insights into the team’s activity.
Pricing:
- Standard: $12.50 per user per month
- Standard + DocSend: $50 per user per month
- Advanced: $20 per user per month
9. Box
Box is a single document workflow platform that helps organizations to create, collaborate and manage content in an efficient manner. Box is a cloud-native document management platform that makes it easy for organizations and teams to securely create and collaborate on content from any device while ensuring it's properly secured and governed.
Type of company: Box is perfect for every industry and business size, from small businesses to global companies looking to support the content management needs across teams, departments, and enterprises.
Best Features:
- Box offers better transparency as it allows teams and companies to set robust user permissions on files, lock files to prevent editing, enable folder controls, and apply security classifications.
- Box offers frictionless access to other apps and allows users to use them directly in Box - whether that's G-Suite, Salesforce, Office 365, or others.
Pricing:
- Starter: $5 per user per month
- Business: $15 per user per month
- Business Plus: $25 per user per month
- Enterprise: Contact Box for detailed pricing information.
- Box Personal is free for one user. Offers a 2-week free trial.
10. Planable
If you're looking for efficient document management software, look into Planable. The platform empowers you to streamline your document review process seamlessly, from creation to approval. It all begins with drafting your document within Planable's user-friendly interface. Whether you're creating blog posts, newsletters, whitepapers, ebooks, or any other written content, Planable provides universal content pages to cater to your specific document needs. Plus, you can collaborate effortlessly with your team members throughout the content creation and approval phase.
Best features:
- The platform's comment feature facilitates effective collaboration, enabling reviewers and subject matter experts to provide feedback directly on your document. This centralized discussion hub simplifies tracking and organization with additional options like internal notes, file attachments, and comment resolution.
- With version control and activity logs, tracking changes and comparing document versions becomes effortless, ensuring quality control throughout the review process.
Pricing:
- Free plan with unlimited features (only for first 50 posts)
- Basic – $11/user
- Pro – $22/user
- Enterprise plan with custom pricing
11. DocuPhase
DocuPhase helps companies to digitally transform their business operations with efficient document workflow management and integrated payment solutions. Another important feature of DocuPhase is the ability for companies to digitally store and secure data and files with advanced search and accessibility features. DocuPhase’s cloud solution helps companies store documents in an easy-to-find manner for your team. DocuPhase's OCR capabilities support data extraction from emails, documents, and PDFs to eliminate manual data entry.
Type of company: DocuPhase can service all industries and sectors especially Accounting, HR, or Manufacturing industry.
Best Features:
- DocuPhase helps companies by offering dedicated data center support staff to reduce the workload on your IT and eliminates the costs of hardware and on-site storage.
- DocuPhase ensures high levels of safety as it stores sensitive information with advanced and highly customizable security protocols.
12. Brandfolder
Brandfolder is leading Digital Asset Management software. Brandfolder works efficiently to offer a single source of truth in an intuitive way for users to find what they need, when they need it. With Brandfolder, teams need not waster dozens of hours a week finding documents or assets as Brandfolder makes file sharing eas given that it is a cloud-based platform. Brandfolder helps companies to improve efficiency because of its ease of use and a quick and simple search function.
Type of company: Brandfolder is best for Enterprise and Mid-Size businesses that focus on efficiency and speed.
Best Features:
- Brandfolder uses proprietary AI and ML technologies, called Brand Intelligence to understand who is accessing files or using assets, where they’re being used, and what are the highest-performing assets.
- Brandfolder simplifies documents and asset distribution by offering teams and users the ability to share a document, a collection of documents or assets, or even your entire Brandfolder with strong privacy controls and user-level permissions.
13. Quip
Quip is a dynamic project management & collaboration platform that combines documents, spreadsheets, checklists, and chat in one experience. Quip makes it easy for Salesforce customers to transform operational processes and embed real-time, collaborative documents inside Salesforce records. Quip is trusted by leading companies like Amazon, Facebook, Citi, Cisco, EA, and more.
Type of company: Quip can help any team or company from any industry or vertical that uses SalesForce work faster and smarter.
Best Features:
- Quip offers handy templates to do the heavy lifting, and can be customized to meet a company’s specific needs.
- Quip is secure and ensures that all of your data is encrypted, auditable, and controlled.
Pricing:
- Quip Starter: $10 per user per month, billed annually.
- Quip Plus: $25 per user per month, billed annually.
- Quip Advanced: $100 per user per month, billed annually.
How Do You Select Which Document Management Software System Is Right For You?
When selecting a document management software or document workflow management system, the first step is to identify the specific needs of your organization. Some questions to consider include:
- What types of documents do you need to track and store?
- What are the requirements for sharing documents internally and externally?
- What are the revision control and publishing needs of your organization?
- What are the system requirements (e.g. hardware, software, etc.)?
Once the specific needs of your organization are identified, you can then begin to evaluate the various document management software systems that are available to meet those needs.
