# 7 Top Rated Document Management Software | Capterra > Looking for document management software? Check out this list of top rated document management software to help manage crucial documents. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/top-rated-document-management-software --- Program & Project Management # 7 Top Rated Document Management Software By Ashish Upadhyay Ashish Upadhyay Ashish Upadhyay is a writer at Capterra. He provides insights to help small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing over 550,000 ... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/aupadhyay/) Published February 14, 2023 9 min read ## Document management software helps capture, store, and manage electronic documents. All businesses, irrespective of their industry or size, use documents for daily operations. But manually organizing and tracking large volumes of paperwork can be overwhelming. If your small business also struggles with such challenges, it's time to invest in document management software. A document management system converts paper-based documents into digital copies and stores the converted files in a centralized repository, making it easier for your team to search and find the documents they need. This article highlights, in alphabetical order, seven top-rated document management software based on verified software reviews. [Read more](#methodology). Find the tool you need Check out the complete list of document management tools in Capterra's software directory. [](https://www.capterra.com/document-management-software/) ## 1\. Adobe Acrobat: Protects files using a password [Adobe Acrobat](https://www.capterra.com/p/251329/Adobe-Acrobat-DC/) is a document management solution that helps create, edit, and manage PDF files. It allows you to change the text and images in an existing PDF, remove specific sections or entire pages, and create digital signatures. With Adobe Acrobat, you can merge multiple PDFs, split one PDF into many files, and rearrange the pages within a PDF. You can also add password protection to protect your files from unauthorized access. **Product features of interest**: - **Password protection**: Encrypts your digital files with a password to restrict unauthorized access.  - **File conversion**: Converts PDF files into multiple formats, including .doc, .ppt, .xls, .jpeg, and .html. - **Signature requests**: Lets you share documents with clients or teammates to request their digital signature.  **Customer support options**: Chat, email, and phone #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Starting price $12.99 per user, per month (annual billing) #### Device Compatibilty #### Screenshots File conversion options in Adobe Acrobat ([Source](https://www.capterra.com/p/251329/Adobe-Acrobat-DC/)) \* Analysis Accurate as of February 3, 2023 ## 2\. Bluebeam Revu: Provides markup functionality to review changes in documents  [Bluebeam Revu](https://www.capterra.com/p/121586/Bluebeam-PDF-Revu/) is a document management and collaboration platform that helps organize and store digital files. It lets you convert multiple file types, including Word documents, images, and CAD drawings, into PDF files.  Its markup and annotation feature allows your teammates to work on the same document and collaborate in real time. It also lets you track changes in a document and compare its different versions.  **Product features of interest**: - **PDF templates:** Offers pre-built templates to create PDF files with a specific design. - **Color processing**: Helps manipulate the colors of a PDF file and change properties such as saturation, luminosity, and hue. - **PDF text search**: Lets you search for specific text in a PDF file to find and retrieve information quickly.  **Customer support options**: Chat, email, and phone #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Starting price $240 per user, per year (billed annually) #### Device Compatibilty #### Screenshots Viewing a file in Bluebeam Revu ([Source](https://www.capterra.com/p/121586/Bluebeam-PDF-Revu/)) \* Analysis Accurate as of February 3, 2023 ## 3\. Dropbox Business: Scans paper-based documents using optical character recognition [Dropbox Business](https://www.capterra.com/p/143068/Dropbox-Business/) is a file sharing and document storage platform designed to store large volumes of data. It lets you save and organize all your files in one centralized location. It allows you to create digital signatures and auto-attach them to documents such as emails and invoices. With Dropbox Business, you get an administrative dashboard to manage access to documents and configure role-based access permissions for sensitive files. You can also sync your devices so your team has access to up-to-date documents at all times.  **Product features of interest**: - **Optical character recognition (OCR)**: Scans paper documents and converts them into digital files. - **Content collaboration**: Lets your teammates work on the same document simultaneously, share files in one organized space, and preview the images and videos attached to files.  - **Remote and offline work**: Syncs documents with your device in real time so you can work offline if you lose internet connection. **Customer support options**: Chat, email, and phone #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Starting price $15 per user, per month (billed annually) #### Device Compatibilty #### Screenshots Managing files in Dropbox Business ([Source](https://www.capterra.com/p/143068/Dropbox-Business/)) \* Analysis Accurate as of February 3, 2023 ## 4\. Google Docs: Offers a pageless view to optimize space usage in documents [Google Docs](https://www.capterra.com/p/160756/Google-Docs/) is document management software that helps create, edit, and format multiple file types, including Word documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. It lets your teammates edit the same document simultaneously and collaborate in real time by adding notes, comments, and action items. The software integrates with multiple third-party project management and database tools, facilitating the transfer of electronic documents between different platforms. It also offers spelling and grammar suggestions to help you write faster and with fewer errors.  **Product features of interest**: - **Pageless view**: Sets up your Google document in a way that it continuously scrolls without page breaks. - **Table templates**: Offers table templates with building blocks for common workflows such as product roadmaps and content trackers. You can customize the table headers, number of rows or columns, and more.  - **Document summary**: Highlights the most important sections of a document and creates an overall summary. **Customer support options**: Chat, email, and phone #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Starting price $6 per user, per month (billed annually) #### Device Compatibilty #### Screenshots Annotations in Google Docs ([Source](https://www.capterra.com/p/160756/Google-Docs/)) \* Analysis Accurate as of February 3, 2023 ## 5\. iLovePDF: Adds watermarks to PDF files [ILovePDF](https://www.capterra.com/p/173963/iLovePDF/) is an online document management solution that lets you organize and store your documents in a centralized location. It allows you to merge multiple PDFs into a single file, separate specific pages from a PDF file, and compress the file size for easier document sharing.  Based on your requirements, you can convert PDF files into images, Word documents, or Excel sheets. You can also create your digital signature and add it to documents. You can even request e-signatures from your teammates and clients. **Product features of interest**: - **File conversion:** Converts any PDF document into PowerPoint, Excel, Word, or image file, and vice versa. - **Add watermarks**: Adds watermarks to PDF documents and lets you choose the typography, transparency, and position of the watermarks. - **File repairing and data recovery**: Repairs damaged PDF files and facilitates data recovery from corrupt PDFs.  **Customer support options**: Chat, email, and phone Most affordable #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Starting price $4 per month (billed annually) #### Device Compatibilty #### Screenshots Digital signatures in iLovePDF ([Source](https://www.capterra.com/p/173963/iLovePDF/)) \* Analysis Accurate as of February 3, 2023 ## 6\. Microsoft OneNote: Syncs documents to provide access across devices [Microsoft OneNote](https://www.capterra.com/p/227211/Microsoft-OneNote/) is a note-taking and document management tool that’s part of the Microsoft Office suite. It allows you to create notes and capture data, such as text, images, audio, and video. It offers a built-in highlighter to highlight specific text or important sections within documents. You can sync your data in real time and access OneNote from multiple devices via cloud storage. You can share your notes via email to collaborate with stakeholders. You can also use the ink feature to draw or write your ideas and annotate your notes. **Product features of interest**: - **Media mixing**: Records audio and video notes and inserts them into documents.  - **Web clipper**: Clips audio and video files and saves them in the cloud. - **Ink tool**: Lets you handwrite notes and draw or sketch your ideas using a stylus or your finger on touchscreen devices. **Customer support options**: Chat, email, and phone #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Starting price $6.99 per user, per month (billed annually) #### Device Compatibilty #### Screenshots Using the ink tool to annotate notes in Microsoft OneNote ([Source](https://www.capterra.com/p/227211/Microsoft-OneNote/)) \* Analysis Accurate as of February 3, 2023 ## 7\. Microsoft Word: Supports languages that use right-to-left scripts [Microsoft Word](https://www.capterra.com/p/227146/Microsoft-Word/) is word processing software that’s part of the Microsoft Office suite and offers document management capabilities. It lets you create, edit, and save documents on your computer or in the cloud. It stores multiple versions of a document so you can revert to a previous version if needed.  The software allows you to add comments and track changes in documents, making it easy to share ideas and get feedback from teammates. You also get access to a template library to create documents such as resumes, letters, and invoices. **Product features of interest**: - **Left-to-right language support:** Tracks keyboard usage when you type right-to-left languages, such as Arabic and Urdu, and recognizes the pattern to provide auto-suggestions in the future.  - **Immersive reading**: Provides audio and visual assistance tools to support multiple learning styles and simplify comprehension. - **Document review**: Helps review documents for spelling, grammar, and sentence construction to make them error-free. **Customer support options**: Chat, email, and phone Best functionality #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Starting price $6.99 per user, per month (billed annually) #### Device Compatibilty #### Screenshots Sharing a document with collaborators in Microsoft Word ([Source](https://www.capterra.com/p/227146/Microsoft-Word/)) \* Analysis Accurate as of February 3, 2023 ## How to choose the best document management software for your business Here are some specific considerations to keep in mind when choosing digital document management software for your small business: - **Assess storage and security parameters**. An ideal document management system should provide features such as password protection and access permissions to monitor and restrict access to sensitive files. Therefore, shortlist software that offers secure storage options for your business documents. - **Evaluate the collaboration and sharing feature**. Prioritize this feature if your small business constantly collaborates on documents with clients or within internal teams. Real-time collaboration and file sharing capabilities such as annotations, version control, and @ mentions make it easier for multiple parties to work together on documents. - **Check for search and retrieve functionality**. The ability to search and retrieve documents quickly is crucial for efficient document management. Consider software that offers functionalities such as full-text search, tagging, document locator, and version control that make it easier to locate specific files. ## How much does document management software cost? Most document management products on the market are priced on a per user, per month basis and can be divided into three pricing tiers based on their starting price. **Price ranges\*:** - $5.75 - $19 - $20 - $26 - $27+ _\*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offering found on vendor websites on Feb. 2, 2023. These ranges correspond to the 25th, 75th, and 100th percentiles of pricing information gathered from vendor websites of sample products._ The above list summarizes pricing for the base plans of most products. An enterprise or premium product that’s priced higher may include additional features such as audit trail, approval workflow, workflow automation, and priority support. ### Hidden costs associated with document management software Check for these hidden costs when buying document management software: - **Implementation costs**: The cost of installing and setting up the software, which may require IT support, training, and customization. - **Storage costs**: The cost of storing large volumes of documents, which may require additional on-premise or cloud storage capacity. - **Additional user costs**: Some vendors might charge an extra fee for additional user seats.  ## Common questions to ask when buying document management software Here are some questions to ask vendors when buying an electronic document management system: Can your software integrate with my existing tools and applications? Software that integrates well with your existing business systems, such as project management and customer relationship management (CRM) tools, will help streamline and centralize your document management workflows across departments and business functions. Does your software offer full-text search and version control capabilities? Look for software that provides robust search capabilities, such as full-text search, to help you quickly find the document you need. The software should also include version control so you can maintain an audit trail of the revisions and revert to a previous version if needed. What is your customer support and service level agreement (SLA)? Opt for a vendor that provides prompt customer support and a service level agreement (SLA) that guarantees service uptime and support availability. Such an agreement will help ensure you have access to the software at all times. ## Capterra's 2026 Software Buying Trends Report ### Download our 2026 Software Buying Trends Report to see how successful software adopters avoid disappointment and how your business can, too. * * * **Methodology** To be considered for this list, products had to: - Have the highest ratings in [Capterra Shortlist report for document management software](https://www.capterra.com/document-management-software/#shortlist). We selected the top seven products to feature in this article. - Include document storage, document capture, and full-text search as core features along with document archiving, search and retrieval, and version control. - Meet our document management software market definition: “_Document management software automates the process of creating, uploading, storing, tracking, and archiving files. It helps users share documents, track comments and changes, and store documents in a centralized repository._” The “**best functionality**” tool is identified based on the highest user ratings for functionality that a vendor receives based on user reviews, as of Feb. 2, 2023. The “**most affordable**” tool is identified based on the lowest pricing a vendor offers on their website in terms of starting price, as of Feb. 2, 2023. Read more about our editorial independence. Note: Products evaluated for the pricing calculation were taken from [Capterra’s document management software directory](https://www.capterra.com/document-management-software/). The pricing range excludes freemium versions of the products. The features highlighted were identified based on their relevance and the percentage of products in the Capterra directory that offer them. * * * Looking for Document Management software?Check out Capterra's list of the [best Document Management software](https://www.capterra.com/document-management-software/) solutions. ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Author [### Ashish Upadhyay](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/aupadhyay/) Ashish Upadhyay is a writer at Capterra. He provides insights to help small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing over 550,000 Capterra user reviews and nearly 48,000 interactions between Capterra software advisors and buyers. 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