ownCloud vs Swift Paperless
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ownCloud
Access, sync, and share your private cloud files securely across all your devices. Create, edit, and collaborate on documents with colleagues, ensuring your data is always up-to-date and accessible.
- Private file sync and share
- Cross-device synchronization
- Secure file sharing
- Create and edit files
- iOS Files integration
- Multi-select and drag-and-drop
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Your files. Your server. Your ownCloud. Connect to your ownCloud Infinite Scale (oCIS) or ownCloud Classic server and access your private cloud from anywhere. Open source, self-hosted, no third-party cloud required. ownCloud gives you full control over your data. Whether you're a teacher accessing the school cloud, a sysadmin managing a federated deployment, or someone who simply refuses to hand their files to a big-tech provider — this app is built for you. FEATURES - Browse, Edit and Create files Work with your files directly on your device with Files integration, built-in markup tools*, and the document scanner*. Switch between list view and three grid views — all updating live as changes happen locally or remotely. - Built-in viewers View common file types right in the app. Swipe through images in carousel view. Navigate PDFs using their table of contents or full-text search. - Spaces (oCIS) On ownCloud Infinite Scale servers, organise work into Spaces with dedicated permissions, members, and quotas. Full Spaces support is built in. - Sharing and Collaboration Share files and folders with other users on the same server or externally via public links. Fine-grained permissions, password protection, and expiry dates give you control over every share. - Search (Local and Remote) Filter by date, size, type, or location. Save searches and create reusable templates. Local search works fully offline. On oCIS servers, server-side search can also find content inside files (depending on server configuration). - Offline Support Mark files and folders for offline availability. Work without a connection. Changes sync automatically when you're back online. Built from the ground up with offline-first in mind. - Multiple Accounts Connect to several ownCloud servers and accounts simultaneously. Switch between them seamlessly. - Deep OS Integration Native iPadOS multitasking, drag and drop, File Provider, and Shortcuts support. Built by developers who care about how apps should feel on Apple platforms. - Security The app tracks your server's TLS certificates and warns you about unexpected changes. Review certificate details (including a diff of what changed) and accept or reject — right from the app. * Some features may require an In-App Purchase or Subscription. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS iOS 15.4 or later, iPadOS 15.4 or later ABOUT OWNCLOUD ownCloud is the original open source platform for self-hosted file sync, share, and collaboration. Founded in 2010 in Germany, ownCloud is trusted by millions of users in education, government, research, and enterprise worldwide. ownCloud is maintained by Kiteworks through its Open Source Program Office. Learn more: https://owncloud.com/ Open source: https://github.com/owncloud/ios-app/ Terms of Use: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/owncloud/ios-app/master/LICENSE Privacy Policy: https://owncloud.com/privacy-statement/
Swift Paperless
This app allows users to manage documents directly from their iOS device. It seamlessly integrates with a self-hosted document management system, ensuring data privacy and control. Easily find, categorize, and add new documents on the go.
- Native iOS integration
- Paperless-ngx compatibility
- Document finding
- Document categorization
- Add documents from phone
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Swift Paperless is a native iOS app that interacts with the popular Paperless-ngx document management software. Paperless-ngx is self-hosted, and therefore fully privacy preserving: you control your data! With Swift Paperless, it's easy to find, categorize and also add documents from your phone!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Swift Paperless at 97% against ownCloud's 32%. Swift Paperless also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.5) and monetization model (free vs freemium). ownCloud's advantage is ratings volume (352 vs 68) and iOS requirement (15.4 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. ownCloud sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per year and Swift Paperless sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Swift Paperless holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ownCloud has 352 ratings behind it against 68, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of ownCloud's written reviews are positive against 97% of Swift Paperless's.
ownCloud ships an update every 3 months, Swift Paperless every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ownCloud | Swift Paperless |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (352 ratings) | 4.9 (68 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 32.5% of reviews | 96.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 352 — better | 68 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 72 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ownCloud GmbH | Paul Gessinger |
Customer experience
ownCloud
Swift Paperless
Bugs and requests
ownCloud
Reported bugs
33 issues- App crashes on startup
- Login screen freezes
- Files app integration returns unknown errors
- Blank screen on certain iPhone models
- Screen rotation breaks file list display
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- Photo upload limited to 3 at a time
- Videos lose metadata during upload
- App closes unexpectedly
- Preview crashes when viewing images
- Media access permission issues
- Infinite loading without results
- Files disappear from folders
- Duplicate file downloads
- Upload stuck in pending state indefinitely
- Annotation changes not saved
- Hand/palm movements close documents during annotation
- iOS 18 compatibility issues
- iOS 16 compatibility issues
- Offline files not cached without internet
- Shortcuts fail silently without in-app purchase
- Make available offline hangs after first file
- OAuth grant expires after device restart
- Invalid grant errors on photo sync
- App hangs waiting for server response
- Scanning documents causes crashes
- Folders become inaccessible after failed uploads
- App requests password every 2 minutes
- Dark mode text visibility issues
- HEIC format instead of JPEG on upload
- CSRF check failed on share link creation
- Slow download speeds compared to web version
- Battery drain in background
- Synced files in hidden/unusable directories
Requested features
20 requests- Ability to unload/delete offline files
- Cancel/stop upload functionality
- Upload only on WiFi option
- Show upload progress percentage
- Show file sizes in status
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- Priority queue for uploads
- Folder upload capability
- Text file editing support
- Activity/modification tracking
- Turkish language support
- Automatic backup for all phone data
- Photo gallery-style grid view with adjustable tiles
- Swipe-down gesture to exit image view
- Separate Photos/Videos menu tab
- Improved web media access for faster photo viewing
- Video controls for offline playback
- External storage support visibility
- Disable global search option for large folders
- Notification badge removal option
- Share links creation without CSRF errors
Swift Paperless
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ownCloud
- Pro Features$1.991 Year
- 30 Day Pro TrialFree
- Document Scanner$2.99
- Shortcuts Actions$2.99
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- Markup Documents$2.99
- Photo Pro Features$2.99
Swift Paperless
- Coffee money$3.99
- Proper thank-you$8.99
- Above and beyond$17.99
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- Legendary generosity$44.99
Questions
Is ownCloud free?
Is Swift Paperless free?
Which has better reviews, ownCloud or Swift Paperless?
Do ownCloud or Swift Paperless have ads?
Which is updated more often, ownCloud or Swift Paperless?
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