Full version control, audit trails, approval workflows, and Active Directory integration — free for up to 10 users, perpetual licenses from $750.
Built for organisations that need real document control without the complexity and cost of enterprise platforms.
The Community Edition is free forever for up to 10 users — not a trial, not a freemium bait-and-switch. Full document management capabilities at zero cost, indefinitely.
✓ No credit card requiredAll paid licenses are perpetual. Pay once and own the software forever. No annual renewal fees, no per-user monthly charges. First year of upgrades included — optional 10% maintenance from Year 2.
✓ From $750 — own it foreverNo separate database to configure, no complex network setup, no IT project required — download, run the installer, and your team is managing documents before your next coffee break. It's 100% browser-based, so there's no client software to install on every machine and nothing new for staff to learn beyond the browser they already use.
✓ No IT team requiredYour data, your rules. Deploy directly on your own local servers for total infrastructure privacy, or choose our secure managed cloud hosting to eliminate IT overhead. Either way, you retain full ownership and control over your document security, access records, and backups.
✓ Full data sovereigntyVersion control, audit trails, approval workflows, full-text search, and Active Directory integration are included starting with the free Community Edition — the capabilities that actually determine whether you have real document control, not held back for a higher tier.
✓ No feature gating on core capabilityEvery action is logged permanently and can't be altered — the immutable audit trail required by frameworks like ISO 9001, HIPAA, and SOX is built in, not bolted on as a third-party add-on.
✓ Immutable audit trailA factual comparison of LocalDMS against common alternatives. Judge for yourself.
| Feature | LocalDMS | SharePoint | Typical SaaS DMS | Shared Drive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier available | ✓ Up to 10 users | Limited trial only | Trial only | ✓ |
| Perpetual license | ✓ From $750 | ✗ Annual subscription | ✗ Monthly per user | Storage cost only |
| Document version control | ✓ Full, automatic | Limited | ✓ | ✗ |
| Immutable audit trails | ✓ Every action logged | ✗ | Varies by vendor | ✗ |
| Approval workflows | ✓ Built-in | Complex setup required | ✓ | ✗ |
| Full-text document search | ✓ | Limited | ✓ | ✗ |
| Active Directory / LDAP | ✓ All editions | ✓ | Enterprise tier only | ✗ |
| On-premises deployment | ✓ Your choice | ✓ | ✗ Cloud only | ✓ |
| Data stays on your servers | ✓ Hybrid options available | Hybrid options | ✗ | ✓ |
| Installation time | ✓ Under 10 minutes | ✗ Weeks to months | Hours (cloud setup) | ✓ Immediate |
| 5-year cost (20 users) | ✓ ~$1,050 | ✗ $15,000+ | ✗ $36,000+ | Storage cost only |
What 20 users actually pay over 5 years across different solutions.
SharePoint is a collaboration platform — not a document management system. Here's what that means in practice.
Getting real document control out of SharePoint requires custom development, Power Automate workflows, and significant IT resources. LocalDMS installs in under 10 minutes with no configuration required.
SharePoint licensing is just the start. Add implementation costs ($5,000–$50,000), ongoing IT maintenance, and third-party add-ons for document control. LocalDMS is free for up to 10 users, and just $750 one-time for up to 20 users — total.
SharePoint doesn't provide the immutable, compliance-grade audit trails required by ISO 9001, HIPAA, SOX, and similar frameworks. LocalDMS logs every action permanently — out of the box.
SharePoint's version history is basic and can be deleted by users with the right permissions. LocalDMS version control is automatic, comprehensive, and retention is enforced — no exceptions.
Building approval workflows in SharePoint means custom Power Automate flows and ongoing maintenance. LocalDMS includes structured approval workflows with electronic sign-offs — built in, no coding.
SharePoint's search index is inconsistent and often returns stale results. LocalDMS full-text search queries actual document content in real time — find any file in seconds, every time.
Not every team needs enterprise complexity. LocalDMS is built for organisations that need real document control without the overhead.
Financial services, healthcare, legal, manufacturing — any industry where audit trails, version control, and document approval records are a compliance requirement.
Whether client confidentiality mandates keeping files on your own server infrastructure, or your business requires a secure zero-maintenance cloud environment — LocalDMS flexes to match your deployment policies.
Your current per-user monthly subscription is adding up and you want to own your software outright — with no surprise price increases and no vendor lock-in.
No IT project budget, no implementation team, no months-long rollout. You need document management working today — not next quarter.
The free Community Edition is not a trial — it's the full product, forever, at no cost. No credit card, no expiry date, no upgrade pressure.
Files getting overwritten, no version history, no approval process, no audit trail — your shared drive isn't working anymore and you need a proper system.
Start free for up to 10 users — no credit card, no time limit. Or request a personalised demo.