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Alfresco vs M-Files comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Alfresco
Ranking in Document Management Software
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (10th)
M-Files
Ranking in Document Management Software
7th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Document Management Software category, the mindshare of Alfresco is 13.3%, up from 13.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of M-Files is 7.4%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Document Management Software
 

Featured Reviews

Karthi Keyan - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamlining document management with enhanced digitalization features needed
We used Alfresco as a document management system for automating and digitizing manual forms. Those were the main use cases The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes has improved our organization. The most valuable features of Alfresco include its integration with…
LN
Good workflows, and it is easy to use with a dashboard that improves contract visibility
My advice for anybody who is looking into implementing this product is to do a pilot first. After you do your research, do an actual pilot before you commit because everyone has nuances and you might find out that it is not what you want, or that it doesn't really do what you think it's going to do. It is not the simplest product to use but because of the robustness of its feature set in the ability with the workflows, and the APIs, to do just about anything you can imagine with it, that's very valuable. I wish it was a little easier to use because we have to spend more time than I'd like with new users, teaching them how it works. We try to hide all that from them but the setup time to get everything the way we wanted was probably two months. That is two months in one resource working on it half time a week, but it just took a lot of work to get the metadata set up, to get the workflows set up, and to get all the documents added to the repository. Now we've got versioning and we know where everything's at, the dashboard is great, but don't assume when they tell you that you'll be up and running in two weeks, that that is the truth. It takes much longer than you think. I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I like the ease of use, sections, and calendar."
"The product allows engineering teams and developers to introduce new things in a seamless and easy way."
"The most valuable features of Alfresco include its integration with the scanning solution, the ability to search, and the capability to store and index to capture metadata."
"The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes is also significant."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the searching elements of the metadata."
"Document repository."
"Alfresco allows broad searches with many index fields that you can search on, although the created fields and their values may not be intuitive."
"Using M-Files means anybody on the executive team to go in and immediately look at a dashboard and know the status of a contract."
 

Cons

"I think the presentation layer could be improved - currently, it's too complex, and there are too many features cluttered all over the screen."
"Metadata, auto class, disposition log, and legal hold."
"Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities."
"Alfresco has a very steep learning curve, and unfortunately, during the learning process, it's very easy to make errors, which often are unforgiving."
"The configuration of Alfresco is a big challenge."
"I would like them to consider document capture functionality."
"The setup process for Alfresco was complex."
"The integration with other products needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you buy Alfresco through a partner, there is usually a OEM licensing option."
"There are costs for any upgrade or additional functions."
"It is cheaper compared to head-to-head competitors."
"The license for Alfresco is expensive - not the maximum, but close. There are also extra costs once you start building integrations, as implementation seems to be very costly."
"They have an Optical Character Scanning module but we didn't buy it because it's ridiculously expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
14%
Computer Software Company
10%
Insurance Company
9%
Educational Organization
20%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Would Alfresco give an organization more benefits in terms of cost, features & security as compared to Sharepoint?
Alfresco scores are high on all features of an ECM solution and tools. Back office processing, rated as 3.36 good. Business Process Application 3.55 Good to excellent. Document Management 4.12...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alfresco?
Pricing is considered mid-range, and there are considerations regarding the cost of licensing.
What needs improvement with Alfresco?
Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities.
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Sample Customers

Over 1,300 companies from 180 different countries. Including EuroStar, Saks Fifth Avenue, NASA Langley Research Center, and KLM.
Crowe UK, Stearns Bank, Head Energy, OMV, TK Elevator
Find out what your peers are saying about Alfresco vs. M-Files and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.