Best Online Document Management Systems in 2025

An online document management system is a term that unites online storage, management, and tracking of electronic documents or any type of recorded information that can be treated as a file unit.

Online document management systems carry with them an enormous amount of responsibility for maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive company data and a mountain of otherwise unmanageable assignments. Online document management systems should not be an afterthought for any business that needs to capture content for document repositories, use COLD/ERM, or find information.

Tragic loss of information is a common consequence of document disarray. Still, it happens to all of us, and we are constantly reminded of the importance of the best document management systems for large and small businesses.

Take a look at our What Is Document Management Software guide to learn more about  online document management software and the features it frequently includes.

Start by signing up for free trials or demos of popular document management systems to compare their features without spending any money. To find the best document management systems for your business, we suggest signing up for free trials of the following programs, which got the highest SmartScore rankings and Customer Satisfaction Ratings in our document management systems reviews: Wrike, Oneflow, Qoppa PDF Studio, ContractZen, Filecamp, Encyro, and SwifDoo.

Reviewing the most common substitutes could also prove useful. If you’re looking for alternatives to PandaDoc, we’ve compiled a list of the Top 10 Alternatives to PandaDoc.

A document management system online targets any of the following businesses:

• For safe and organized electronic document storage, startups and small enterprises rely on online document management systems.
• Files may be stored, shared, and managed using this system, making it ideal for businesses of all sizes.
• These solutions greatly improve large organizations’ document storage, retrieval, and collaboration.
• There is a demand for more streamlined and centralized file-sharing and document storage alternatives in educational institutions.

The following are the leading examples of online document management systems:

1. PandaDoc – This web-based document management solution lets users create, deliver, and share documents online and sign them legally for faster, paperless transactions. It supports PDFs, Docs, and other digital documents.
2. Wrike – This was created to boost productivity in co-located and distributed teams. Its flexibility lets multifunctional teams work together from one place. Schedule, prioritize, discuss, and track work and progress in real-time.
3. Fill – Securely create, send, and track documents. You have everything you need for easy data collection and contract lifecycle management online on any device. Automate contract management workflow.
4. Oneflow – This automates sales proposal contracts. It speeds up digital contract and proposal creation. Besides e-signatures and contract creation, it offers analytics and collaboration.
5. Qoppa PDF Studio – This full-featured PDF editor and manager scans papers and converts Word, images, and other text files into PDF. It simplifies PDF annotation: highlight, add sticky notes, and record audio into PDFs.
6. ContractZen – This secure and easy-to-use governance software helps you manage contracts. It has unique governance tools like entity management, board meeting management, virtual data rooms, and integrated e-signature.
7. Filecamp – This cloud-based DAM platform lets you access and share files and collaborate anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Save time searching for files, keeping up with file versions, managing security, and more.
8. Encyro – This encrypts emails, collects e-signatures, and secures files. This app lets businesses email any address without worrying about attachment security or client data. It has 16 security layers and automated encryption.
9. SwifDoo – Instantly and securely create, process, and sign PDF documents, thus boosting efficiency. It simplifies PDF document generation, editing, annotation, merging, conversion, compression, and signing.
10. ContractWorks – This simple, AI-powered contract management system lets you enroll unlimited users, manage unlimited contracts, and set up electronic signing without losing data.
11. Filemail – Use this full-featured platform for sending large files quickly and for free. Email or link large files and get unlimited downloads, recipients, and bandwidth. The platform also delivers files in their original quality.
12. Vitrium Security – Protect documents, videos, and images with enterprise content security and DRM. Prevent personal sharing and illegal distribution of digital assets.
13. eFileCabinet – This is one of the most secure document management systems that help companies eliminate paperwork and provide faster, more reliable customer service.
14. Templafy – This smartly manages, updates, and shares business document templates, assets, and branded content across your organization. It offers enterprise email signature management and is easy to set up and use.
15. Samepage – This offers complete business team collaboration. Scheduling, discussion topics, meeting agendas, files, instant messages, conversations, and task lists are all available on one platform.
16. Synology Drive – This automatically syncs files between computers and over the internet. As such, it makes files easy to share and access across offices regardless of distance.
17. Wondershare PDFelement Pro – This lets you create, organize, and secure PDF files easily. It is user-friendly and gives you full control over your PDF content with almost unlimited transformation options.
18. PDFfiller – This is a simple, cloud-based PDF editor with an intuitive drag-and-drop mechanism and standard editing features. The system lets you edit, sign, and share PDFs securely and quickly.
19. M-Files – Organize and track information and documents. Benefit from mobile optimization, version control, e-signature support, document templates, offline access, permission control, and automated workflows.
20. Zimbra – This collaboration software offers blogs, microblogs, forums, wikis, content editing, web pages, media galleries, video embedding, tags, and tag clouds. Create a personal cloud with an email-integrated inbox.

Here are some types of online document management systems available online:

• Web-based – The main benefit is that no client software installation is required. The program can be accessed with any web browser.
• Client-Server based – This software has the potential to be quicker and more reliable than others. Simple yet complex integration can be developed with a fully customizable interface.
• Database packages – In most cases, this kind is built on top of a pre-existing database management system like SQL or Oracle. It allows for complex associations to be made between data and visuals. On the other hand, they frequently call for a boost in available processing power.
• Cloud-based packages – There is no need to install anything on your computer; the seller hosts the software, and you only need internet connectivity to use it. You may forget about upgrades and software downloads. Just pay the monthly or annual fee, and you can use the service indefinitely.

Unless you’re the type of person whose best ideas come from working under pressure, an online document management system will prove to be one of the most valuable assets your business has ever acquired. Cloud-based document management cuts down on paper use and pollution and eliminates several things that could cause managers stress.

• Robust set of features and functionalities: More people equals more fun. You need a DMS because you can’t trust your memory to recall every document’s content or to know exactly what a comparison report should include or compare. Your online document management system should ideally have the following features: searching filters (to locate information once knowledge is fleshed out), versioning (to update files automatically and avoid inexcusable errors), permissions (to keep an eye on the social community and to distinguish people who can edit or delete files), and universal document support (to accept standard formats and common extensions and to be able to respond to emerging formats too). In addition to the standard features of a DMS, providers should let users change documents online, access them when they’re not connected to the internet, get help via chat or phone, and access them from a mobile device.
• Time-savers: Time is money, whether you’re in business or not. If you want to run a more efficient business, the most important thing you can do is implement a solid document management system to save time. A DMS’ greatest benefit is that it allows you to quickly and easily discover any file through sophisticated filtering mechanisms rather than having to turn your entire workplace upside down.
• Store and share files: You can work together on papers and share them with internal/external parties after they are stored in a centralized database. Anyone can’t access them unless you either transmit them in a password-protected folder or use system links to share them. As with inefficiencies and mistakes, DMSs typically provide audit-tracking capability that alerts document owners to document views/edits.
• Provide access “on the go”: The ability to access data stored in the cloud from any device at any time might be the single greatest benefit of DM software. Inevitably, online document management software has evolved into a mobile-friendly version of an organizational candy, accessible from any device with an internet connection.
• Safeguard document content: Having information spread like wildfire isn’t the safest option, as many have pointed out, but it has its advantages. The developers of document management systems weren’t so careless as to ignore the security issue, though, and they built in robust safeguards to keep users’ data secure. RBAC (role-based access controlling) is similar to its stringent security strategy in protecting sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands.
• Integrate with your existing software infrastructure: Their ability to work with other apps is a major plus since it guarantees that data is transferred accurately and quickly between your various systems. With the email integration offered by most modern DMSs, you may easily send and receive files with anyone outside of the system.
• Intelligently organize your information: Most workers greet DMSs with open arms because organizing, categorizing, and prioritizing files is the worst part of the doc management nightmare. These programs give businesses a reliable organizational structure and can even tag and rank papers to simplify work.
• Get a strong collaboration platform: A DM system can be great for teams to work by using built-in collaboration tools or adding third-party connectors. When employees are working on a project from multiple locations, it is very important for them to be able to effectively collaborate and manage their documents.

If you’re on the verge of giving up, keep in mind that online document management systems handle your mountain of paperwork. But choosing the best DMS for your company is still the most difficult element of the process.

Most vendors and manufacturers have a certain type of customer in mind, but their goods can be used by businesses of all sizes and in many different fields. Here, preferences for how things work are more important, even if they can be hard to figure out.

Read our in-depth article on the advantages of document management systems to learn more.

We suggest you start your search by looking for the most important features. Once you’ve narrowed your choices down to about a dozen, you can think about your preferences and needs.

Attractive appearance

Of course, the aesthetic quality of the program you’re using isn’t the be-all and end-all of your decision, but you’d be astonished at how many people value it. There’s no question that interfaces that are easy to use and look good make their users more productive. This is true not only because of the pleasant aesthetics of such interfaces but also because of their simplicity and ease of use.

Quick deployment

How often have CEOs and management delayed installing a DMS because they thought they wouldn’t have enough time? In the past few years, their reluctance may have been understandable. There is no longer any reason to worry about losing time or data while switching to an online document management approach.

Cost-effectiveness

Although there may be some savings, the high upfront expenditures of cloud-based DMSs are not warranted in the long run. A system can be found for as little as $20 per month up to $50 per month, depending on the user’s needs and ability to save (per user). It’s important to know that some providers offer free 30-day trials with full access and lower prices if you pay upfront.

Remote capabilities

When it comes to apps for working remotely, cloud-based document management systems are a must-have. A central cloud storage site makes it easy for people working on the same project from different places to access documents, share them, and talk to each other. Document management systems hosted in the cloud can do this, making it an important tool for employees who work on the go.

The following steps can help you make a smooth transition before you join the crowd:

• Understand the importance of the step you’re making: Moving to an entirely new system is every bit as daunting as it sounds. Regarding the system, think of it as a piece of music and your staff as the orchestra. Get everyone on board, answer their questions, and explain the advantages.
• Don’t save money on training: Not all DMSs are intuitive, but once you shell out the cash, there’s no turning back. Don’t allow your investment to go to waste; instead, reinvest in training for staff. Put together seminars and training sessions, and give them all the time they need to absorb the material.
• Digitize your documents in advance: Scanning the documents must be done, even if it takes a long time. It’ll get you up and running with your DMS as soon as it reaches your company’s doorstep.
• Customize your DMS: Although most DMSs have a generic design and functionality, you may still make yours unique. Your company will benefit more from it if you take the time to tailor it to its specific demands.
• Test support from the very first moment: Make initial contact immediately, especially if you anticipate needing assistance with execution. If you want to show that your product and company are worth the money, invest in the best possible technical team.

With the help of automated technologies, a document management system can do a much better job of keeping files organized. Technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning make document management systems much better at automating tasks. Intelligent process automation (IPA) is one such example. It is a smart, scalable technology that automates repetitive tasks in the context of document management workflow.

Users can access all content from their mobile devices. This is important because more and more people are using their phones as their main way to get around. Also, since more and more people are working from home, it makes sense to make document management work on mobile devices.

Unlike their paper counterparts, digital files can easily keep up with changes in the field and can even be made interactive. These days, it’s easy to add multimedia components to your digital documents, such as videos, music files, image galleries, and links.

• Unauthorized access: Using a document management system helps managers and business owners feel less stressed by giving them a safe place to store important records. However, for this to work, it is necessary to first specify user access to folders and files, which includes restricting user activities on specific documents. For instance, only the document’s original author can change it, eliminating the risk of any unintended or malicious changes being made.
• Compliance and data security: Cyberattacks can happen on cloud storage just like they can on other cloud-based systems. Some document management systems go above and beyond by adding extra layers of security, while others just make sure they follow the data security and privacy rules already in place. Others still adhere to generally accepted norms within their field.
• Accountability: Some DMSs can’t create an exhaustive audit trail because of how they handle documents. As you may see, this can lead to complications. especially when figuring out if a document has been changed without approval. It is important for a document management system to keep track of who made changes to a document and when. In this way, if problems do develop, they’ll know who to hold responsible.