Best Open Source Alternatives to Paper

Compare the best free and open-source alternatives to Paper — self-hosted and desktop replacements you fully control, ranked by GitHub stars, license and platform support.

Curated by open-source.store · Updated November 2026 · 3 alternatives

Paper

Proprietary SaaS

Paper alternatives compared

Open-source alternatives to Paper, compared by stars, license and platform
Tool		License	Platforms	Self-hosted
Graphite	27,827	Apache-2.0	Web	No	Nov 2026	Visit
OpenPencil	9,575	MIT	LinuxmacOSWindows	No	Nov 2026	Visit
Grida	2,696	Apache-2.0	LinuxmacOSWindows	No	Oct 2026	Visit

Top open-source Paper alternatives

Graphite27,827Apache-2.0

Graphite is a browser-based vector editor and procedural design tool that replaces Adobe Illustrator with non-destructive, local-first 2D workflows.

Web

vs Paper: a free, open-source option you fully control, licensed Apache-2.0.

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Edgar Sipki

Go & gRPC engineer · founder of EasyP

Promoted

Mentoring for backend developers. Consulting for startups.

Go, gRPC and Protobuf done right, LLM agents in production, and the hard parts of shipping a first product.

GogRPCProtobufLLM agents

sipki.online

Speaker at HighLoad++, GolangConf, AI Conf, DevOpsConf
Helped launch 7+ startups
Maintainer of EasyP, the open-source Protobuf toolkit

OpenPencil9,575MIT

OpenPencil is an open-source Figma alternative that opens .fig files locally, offering vector canvas editing and built-in AI without subscriptions.

LinuxmacOSWindows

vs Paper: a free, open-source option you fully control, licensed MIT.

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Grida2,696Apache-2.0

Grida is an open-source canvas and form builder that replaces parts of Figma and Typeform by linking visual layouts directly to Supabase databases.

LinuxmacOSWindows

vs Paper: a free, open-source option you fully control, licensed Apache-2.0.

Visit Details