Compare OpenKM and PDF Expert on pricing, features, platforms, and ratings — both Documents & E-signature tools, Freemium pricing to decide which fits your…
At a Glance
OpenKM
PDF Expert
Primary category
Documents & E-signature
Documents & E-signature
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium
Freemium
Starting price
Free (Community Edition); Professional and Cloud plans are custom-quoted, with third-party estimates starting around $30/user/month
Free (view/basic annotate); Premium from EUR 5.99/week or EUR 84.99/year; Lifetime EUR 149.99 (Mac only)
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Yes
Platforms
Web
iOS, Mac
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Not documented
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
OpenKM
Community Edition — Free N/A
Professional Edition — Custom (estimated from around $30/user/month) Monthly or annual
Free, open-source Community Edition available for self-hosting
Strong workflow and business process automation via jBPM
Purpose-built records management features for compliance-heavy industries
Scales from small teams to large enterprise deployments
International presence with localized support in multiple regions
Cons
Professional and Cloud pricing is not published and requires a sales quote
Community Edition has no official vendor support, only forums
Admin interface feels dated compared to newer cloud-native DMS tools
Workflow configuration has a learning curve for non-technical users
Smaller third-party app marketplace than mainstream competitors like Box
PDF Expert
Pros
Native, well-designed apps for Mac, iPad, and iPhone
One-time Lifetime purchase option (Mac) as an alternative to subscription
AI-powered PDF Copilot assistant built in
Fast performance and Apple Pencil support on iPad
Strong OCR and form-filling tools
Cons
Lifetime license is limited to the Mac version only
Weekly and annual subscription pricing can be costly compared to some competitors
No native Windows or Android app, with a Mac/iOS/iPadOS focus
Some advanced features are gated behind the Premium subscription
Use Cases
OpenKM
Legal and compliance document management — Law firms and compliance teams use OpenKM's records management and audit features to manage sensitive documents.
Enterprise records management — Large organizations use OpenKM to enforce retention schedules and regulatory document lifecycles across departments.
Educational institution document control — Universities and schools use OpenKM to manage administrative records, student files, and institutional documents.
PDF Expert
Mac and iPad document editing for professionals — Professionals use PDF Expert to annotate, edit, and sign contracts and reports natively on Mac and iPad.
Student note-taking and study — Students annotate lecture slides and textbooks with Apple Pencil support on iPad.
Digitizing and organizing scanned paperwork — Users scan paper documents, run OCR to make them searchable, and organize them into folders.