Papermark's pricing isn't immediately clear from their website. You'll see "free" and "open source" mentioned, but when you dig deeper, the paid tiers and what they actually include gets confusing fast.
This guide breaks down Papermark's current pricing, shows what you'll actually pay for different team sizes, and compares it to alternatives. You'll see real costs, understand which features matter, and learn when Papermark makes sense (and when it doesn't).
Overview of Papermark
Papermark is an open-source document sharing platform built for tracking who views your documents. Think of it as DocSend but self-hostable and with a free tier.
Core functionality:
- Upload pitch decks, contracts, and sales materials
- Create trackable sharing links
- See who opened your document, when, and for how long
- Get real-time notifications when someone views your content
Key features:
- Page-by-page analytics
- Custom domains for branded links
- Email capture before viewing
- Passcode protection
- Link expiration controls
- Download controls
- NDA and agreement capture
- Custom branding removal
Market position: Papermark launched in 2023 as an open-source alternative to DocSend. They're backed by Y Combinator and position themselves as the privacy-focused, affordable option. Since it's open source, you can self-host for free or pay for their hosted version with more features.
Current Papermark pricing (2026)
All prices in USD. Papermark bills monthly or annually with a 20% discount on annual plans.
Pricing is per document link for free tier, unlimited documents for paid plans.
Free - $0/month
Who it's for: Individual users testing document tracking or sharing occasionally.
What's included:
- Unlimited document uploads
- Unlimited links
- Basic analytics (views, time spent, page-by-page)
- Email notifications
- Passcode protection
- Custom branding (Papermark logo removed)
- Up to 3 custom domains
Key limitations:
- Papermark branding on pages
- No data room features
- No NDA capture
- No custom domains beyond 3
- No team collaboration
- Basic support only
Best for: Founders sharing pitch decks a few times per month or testing the platform.
Pro - $39/month
Who it's for: Solo founders and small teams actively fundraising or sharing documents with clients.
What's included:
- Everything in Free
- Remove Papermark branding
- Custom domains (unlimited)
- NDA and agreement collection
- Email capture forms
- Advanced analytics with user insights
- Link expiration scheduling
- Download tracking
- Priority email support
Key limitations:
- Single user account
- No team workspaces
- No data room features
- No SSO
Best for: Solo founders fundraising or consultants sharing proposals with clients.
Business - $79/month
Who it's for: Teams managing multiple stakeholders and documents.
What's included:
- Everything in Pro
- Up to 5 team members
- Team workspaces
- Data room capabilities
- Folder organization
- Multi-document sharing
- Team analytics
- Slack notifications
- Priority support
Key limitations:
- 5 user maximum
- No SSO
- No dedicated support
- No custom contracts
Best for: Early-stage teams managing investor outreach or sales teams with proposals.
Data Room - $199/month
Who it's for: Companies in active fundraising or M&A with serious due diligence needs.
What's included:
- Everything in Business
- Unlimited team members
- Advanced data room features
- Granular permissions
- Document versioning
- Audit logs
- Activity timeline
- Custom NDAs
- White-label option
- Dedicated support
Key limitations:
- Still cloud-hosted (not self-hosted with this plan)
- No custom SLA
Best for: Companies raising Series A+ or going through M&A due diligence.
Enterprise - Custom pricing
Custom pricing based on specific needs. Contact sales for quote.
What's different:
- Self-hosted deployment option
- SSO and SAML
- Custom contracts and SLAs
- Dedicated account manager
- Implementation support
- Advanced security features
- Custom integrations
Typically starts around $500/month for smaller enterprise needs.
Plan comparison table
Costs not shown in base pricing
Custom domain setup: Free, but you need to own the domain and configure DNS records.
Self-hosting costs: If you use the open-source version, you'll pay for hosting infrastructure (typically $20-50/month on platforms like Railway or Vercel).
Additional users on Business plan: No extra cost up to 5 users, then you need Data Room plan.
Storage: Unlimited on all plans currently, but very large files (100MB+) can be slow to load.
Migration assistance: Not included on any plan below Enterprise.
Is the Papermark free plan right for my business?
The free plan gives you unlimited documents and basic tracking analytics. You can share as many documents as you want and see who viewed them.
What the free plan includes:
- Core document tracking features
- Unlimited uploads and links
- Basic analytics (views, time spent, pages viewed)
- Passcode protection
- Email notifications when someone views
What you CAN'T do on the free plan:
- Remove Papermark branding from shared pages
- Collect NDAs or agreements before viewing
- Capture viewer emails
- Use more than 3 custom domains
- Access data room features for organized due diligence
- Collaborate with team members
- Get priority support
Who the free plan works for:
Solo founders sharing pitch decks occasionally. If you're sending 5-10 decks per month to investors and don't need your own branding, free works fine.
Who needs to upgrade:
You'll need a paid plan if:
- You're actively fundraising and meeting 20+ investors
- You need to remove "Powered by Papermark" from your pages
- You want to collect NDAs or capture investor emails
- You're managing multiple stakeholders in due diligence
- You need your team to collaborate on shared documents
Realistic assessment:
For casual use, the free plan is totally usable. But if you're actively fundraising or selling, the Papermark branding looks unprofessional and you'll want Pro at minimum. Most serious users upgrade within a week.
Real costs for teams
Per-user pricing doesn't apply to Papermark's lower tiers since Pro and Free are single-user. Costs jump at team sizes. Here's what Papermark actually costs for common scenarios.
Solo founder fundraising
Team size: 1 user
Use case: Sharing pitch deck with 30-40 investors over 3 months
Recommended plan: Pro
Monthly cost: $39
Annual cost: $468 ($39/month if paid annually with 20% discount = $374)
What this includes:
- Unlimited document shares
- Track all investor views
- Collect NDAs from interested investors
- Remove branding
- Custom domain (pitchdeck.yourstartup.com)
Limitations to watch:
- Only you can access the account
- No team collaboration features
- Can't organize into data room structure
2-3 person founding team
Team size: 3 users
Use case: All founders need access to investor analytics and document management
Recommended plan: Business
Monthly cost: $79
Annual cost: $948 ($63/month if paid annually = $758)
What this includes:
- All Pro features
- 5 team member seats (only using 3)
- Team workspace for collaboration
- Data room for organized due diligence
- Shared analytics dashboard
Limitations to watch:
- Still limited to 5 total users
- No dedicated support
Small team with investors in due diligence
Team size: 5-8 users (founders + key team members)
Use case: Series A fundraise with 10-15 investors in due diligence
Recommended plan: Data Room
Monthly cost: $199
Annual cost: $2,388 ($159/month if paid annually = $1,910)
What this includes:
- Unlimited team members
- Full data room with granular permissions
- Document versioning
- Audit logs showing all activity
- White-label option
- Dedicated support
Limitations to watch:
- Still cloud-hosted
- No SSO for investor portals
Cost comparison table
Hidden cost multipliers:
Costs increase when you need:
- More than 5 users (forces Data Room upgrade from $79 to $199)
- Self-hosting with Enterprise features (minimum $500/month)
- Custom integrations or dedicated support (Enterprise only)
- White-label completely (Data Room or Enterprise)
The jump from Business to Data Room is significant. If you only have 6-7 users, you're paying 2.5x more than Business plan. There's no middle option.
What teams actually need
Most teams overpay for Papermark features they never use. Here's what actually matters for different use cases.
Pre-seed founder sharing pitch deck
Must-have features:
- Document upload and trackable links
- Basic analytics (who viewed, when, time spent)
- Email notifications
Nice-to-have features:
- Branding removal
- Custom domain
- NDA collection
Skip these features:
- Data room organization
- Team workspaces
- Advanced permissions
Recommended plan: Free (upgrade to Pro if you're meeting 20+ investors)
You don't need much. Free plan tracks everything you need. Upgrade to Pro if you want to look more professional and collect NDAs.
Seed stage with active investor conversations
Must-have features:
- Branding removal
- Custom domain
- NDA capture
- Email capture for warm leads
- Download controls
Nice-to-have features:
- Data room for due diligence documents
- Team access for co-founders
- Link expiration
Skip these features:
- Audit logs
- Granular permissions
- White-label
Recommended plan: Pro if solo, Business if 2+ founders need access
The branding matters now. Investors expect professional presentation. Business plan makes sense when your co-founders also need to see analytics and manage documents.
Series A with due diligence room
Must-have features:
- Data room with folder organization
- Granular permissions (some docs for all investors, some for specific ones)
- Team collaboration
- Audit logs
- Document versioning
- NDA collection
Nice-to-have features:
- White-label option
- Dedicated support
- Activity timeline
Skip these features:
- SSO (unless investors specifically request it)
- Self-hosting
Recommended plan: Data Room ($199/month)
Due diligence requires organization. You need folder structures, version control, and the ability to show different documents to different investors. Data Room is the minimum for serious fundraising at this stage.
Enterprise with security requirements
Must-have features:
- SSO and SAML
- Self-hosted deployment option
- Custom SLA
- Audit logs and compliance features
- Dedicated support
Nice-to-have features:
- Custom integrations
- Account manager
- Training sessions
Skip these features:
- Most enterprise teams can skip white-label if they're self-hosting
Recommended plan: Enterprise (custom pricing, expect $500-1,000/month)
If your security team requires self-hosting or SSO, you need Enterprise. No way around it.
Decision framework:
Ask yourself:
- How many investors are you talking to? (Under 10 = Free, 10-30 = Pro, 30+ in diligence = Data Room)
- Do you care about looking professional? (Yes = at least Pro)
- How many team members need access? (1 = Pro, 2-5 = Business, 6+ = Data Room)
- Are you in active due diligence? (Yes = Data Room minimum)
- Do you need self-hosting or SSO? (Yes = Enterprise, no other option)
What users say about Papermark pricing
We reviewed user comments on G2, Product Hunt, and GitHub. Here's what actual customers say about Papermark's pricing.
What users like
Free tier is genuinely useful:
"Used the free plan for my entire pre-seed raise. Tracked 30+ investors without paying anything. Upgraded to Pro once I got serious."
— Founder, Product Hunt
Simple pricing structure:
"Pricing is straightforward compared to DocSend. No per-link charges or view limits."
— Sales Manager, G2
Open source option:
"Self-hosted on Railway for $15/month. Works great and costs nothing beyond infrastructure."
— Developer, GitHub
Common pricing complaints
Big jump from Business to Data Room:
"We have 6 team members so we need Data Room at $199. That's a huge jump from $79 for just one extra seat."
— COO, G2
Limited free tier for active use:
"Free plan is fine for testing but the branding looks bad when you're actually fundraising. Had to upgrade immediately."
— Founder, Product Hunt
No middle tier for small teams:
"5 user limit on Business plan is arbitrary. We have 7 people who need access but don't need full data room features."
— Operations Lead, GitHub
Missing features in lower tiers:
"Pro plan has no team features at all. If your co-founder wants to see analytics, you jump from $39 to $79. Feels like a forced upgrade."
— Startup Founder, Product Hunt
Self-hosting requires technical knowledge:
"Free self-hosting sounds great until you realize you need to configure everything yourself. Took me 3 hours to set up properly."
— Technical Founder, GitHub
Is Papermark worth the cost?
Most users find the Pro plan ($39) reasonable for what you get. The free tier works for light use but feels limited for active fundraising. The main frustration is the forced upgrade to Data Room ($199) when you exceed 5 users - there's no middle option.
Users generally agree it's cheaper than DocSend but needs more flexibility in team pricing. The open-source self-hosting option is appreciated by technical founders but requires setup effort that many don't want to deal with during a busy fundraise.
Papermark vs alternatives: quick comparison
Here's how Papermark pricing compares to similar tools. All prices for comparable plans.
Ellty - $0 (free forever), $29/month (Pro)
Ellty focuses specifically on pitch deck sharing with built-in analytics. Simpler feature set than Papermark but covers core needs.
- Free plan includes unlimited pitch deck uploads, link tracking, and real-time notifications
- No branding on free tier
- Pro adds advanced analytics and custom domains
- No data room features
- Best for founders who only need pitch deck tracking
Free tier includes what Papermark charges $39 for (branding removal).
DocSend - $50/month (Personal), $150/month (Standard)
The established player that Papermark competes against. Much more expensive but has enterprise features and longer track record.
- No free tier, 14-day trial only
- Personal plan ($50) limits you to 100 sends per month
- Standard plan ($150) includes team features
- Advanced analytics and integrations
- Used by large companies and VCs
- Best for established companies with budget
For a 5-person team, DocSend costs $750/year vs Papermark's $948/year for Business plan.
PandaDoc - $35/month (Essentials), $65/month (Business)
More focused on contract management and e-signatures than document tracking.
- 14-day free trial, no permanent free plan
- Essentials includes basic document tracking
- Business plan adds team features and CRM integrations
- Strong e-signature capabilities
- Best for contract-heavy workflows (sales agreements, not pitch decks)
Different use case than Papermark but overlaps for some users.
Cost comparison for common scenarios
For a solo founder (annual pricing):
For a 5-person team (annual pricing):
When Papermark makes sense:
You need data room features with folder organization and permissions. Ellty doesn't have these. Papermark's Data Room plan is your best option under $200/month.
You want the option to self-host. Papermark is open source and you can run it yourself. No other major alternative offers this.
You're technical and want to customize. The codebase is accessible and you can modify it for specific needs.
When alternatives make sense:
You only need pitch deck tracking. Ellty covers this for less money with no branding even on free tier.
You have 6+ users but don't need full data rooms. Ellty's Pro plan covers unlimited users for $29/month. Papermark forces you to $199/month Data Room.
You need e-signatures or contract management. PandaDoc is built for this, Papermark isn't.
Special offers and discounts
Annual payment discount: Pay annually and save 20% on all Papermark plans. Pro drops from $39 to $31/month ($374/year), Business from $79 to $63/month ($758/year).
How to save money:
Start with free plan and test it thoroughly before upgrading. Most founders can validate the tool on free tier in 2-3 weeks.
Use custom domains strategically. Free tier gives you 3 domains. You can use subdomain.yoursite.com and only upgrade to Pro when you actually need more.
Self-host if you're technical. The open-source version is completely free. You only pay for infrastructure ($15-30/month on Railway or Vercel).
Startup programs:
No formal startup program, but Papermark sometimes offers discounts to YC companies. Check with them directly if you're in an accelerator.
Educational pricing:
No education discount currently available.
Non-profit discounts:
Not advertised, but reach out to their team if you're a non-profit. They've been flexible in the past.
Free trial strategy:
Free plan is permanent, so there's no trial period to optimize. Use the free plan for as long as it works, then upgrade when you hit limitations.
Negotiation tips for Enterprise:
Enterprise pricing is custom. Factors that affect cost:
- Number of users (unlimited, but they care about scale)
- Self-hosting requirements
- SLA and support needs
- Custom integrations
Get quotes from DocSend and other alternatives before negotiating. Papermark will match or beat pricing if you're serious.
Annual commitment gets better rates. They prefer predictable revenue over month-to-month.
How to calculate your true cost
Base price is just the start. Here's how to calculate what you'll actually pay for Papermark.
Step 1: Base subscription
- Solo founder: $39/month (Pro) or $374/year (annual)
- Small team (2-5 users): $79/month (Business) or $758/year (annual)
- Growing team (6+ users): $199/month (Data Room) or $1,910/year (annual)
Step 2: Add-ons and extras
Papermark doesn't charge for add-ons. All features are included in plan price.
Domain costs: If you use custom domains, you need to own them. Typical cost $10-15/year per domain. Most teams use one domain.
Step 3: Implementation
Hosted version: No setup cost. Takes 10-15 minutes to configure.
Self-hosted version: Free if you do it yourself. Technical setup takes 2-4 hours initially. Ongoing maintenance averages 30-60 minutes per month.
Infrastructure costs for self-hosting: $15-50/month depending on platform and usage.
Step 4: Ongoing costs
No usage-based fees. Unlimited documents and shares on all plans.
Support is included. Even free plan gets email support (slower response).
Example calculation for 3-person founding team:
Base cost:
- Business plan annual: $758/year
- Divided by 12 months: $63/month
Domain:
- Custom domain: $12/year ($1/month)
Setup:
- Time investment: 30 minutes (no dollar cost)
Total first-year cost:
- Subscription: $758
- Domain: $12
- Total: $770
True monthly cost (amortized): $64
Compare this to alternatives:
Same 3-person team using DocSend Standard: $1,800/year ($150/month) = 2.3x more expensive
Same team using Ellty Pro: $348/year ($29/month) = 2.2x less expensive
Hidden costs to remember:
Time spent organizing documents if you use the Data Room. This isn't a dollar cost but takes hours to structure properly.
Training team members on the platform. Usually 15-30 minutes per person.
Migration effort if you switch tools later. Papermark doesn't export analytics history easily.
Switch to Ellty (free Papermark alternative)
Papermark has a complex pricing structure with big jumps between tiers. Ellty takes a different approach - simple pricing focused specifically on pitch deck sharing.
Ellty Free
- $0, forever
- Unlimited pitch deck uploads
- Link tracking and analytics
- Real-time notifications when investors open your deck
- See which pages they spent time on
- No branding (completely white-label even on free)
- Custom domains
Best for: Solo founders in pre-seed or seed fundraising.
Ellty Pro - $29/month
- All Free features
- Unlimited team members
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Virtual data room for due diligence
- Document versioning
- Investor CRM integration
- Email capture and NDA collection
- Priority support
Best for: Founding teams actively fundraising or in due diligence.
Side-by-side comparison: Papermark vs Ellty
What you save with Ellty
For a solo founder:
- Papermark Pro: $374/year
- Ellty Pro: $348/year
- Savings: $26/year (7%)
Not much difference for solo users. The real savings come with teams.
For a 5-person team:
- Papermark Business: $758/year (5 user limit)
- Ellty Pro: $348/year (unlimited users)
- Savings: $410/year (54%)
For a 10-person team:
- Papermark Data Room: $1,910/year
- Ellty Pro: $348/year
- Savings: $1,562/year (82%)
When Ellty makes sense
You only need pitch deck tracking. Ellty is built specifically for this. No feature bloat.
You want no branding on the free tier. Papermark adds branding to free plan, Ellty doesn't.
You have a team bigger than 1 person. Ellty includes unlimited team members on Pro. Papermark charges more and has user limits.
You want simple pricing. One free plan, one paid plan. No confusing tiers.
When to stick with Papermark
You need to self-host. Papermark is open source, Ellty is not. If your security requirements demand self-hosting, Papermark is the only option.
You need granular document permissions. Papermark's Data Room plan has advanced permission controls. Ellty's data room is simpler.
You want to customize the codebase. Since Papermark is open source, you can modify it. Ellty is closed source.
Migration is simple
Export your documents from Papermark. Upload to Ellty. Takes about 15 minutes for most users.
Analytics history doesn't transfer (this is true for any tool migration). You start fresh.
Links you've already shared will still work with Papermark. Create new tracked links in Ellty for future sharing.
Try Ellty Free - No credit card required. Set up in under 5 minutes.
Quick answers
Does Papermark have a free plan?
Yes. The free plan includes unlimited documents, basic analytics, and link tracking. You'll see Papermark branding on shared pages and can't collect NDAs or use more than 3 custom domains. It works fine for occasional sharing but most active fundraisers upgrade to Pro within a few weeks.
Does Papermark offer a free trial?
No traditional trial because the free plan is permanent. You can test all core features without paying. Pro and Business plans are month-to-month so you can cancel anytime, which is essentially a rolling trial.
Does Papermark have monthly billing or only annual?
Both. Monthly billing is full price. Annual saves 20%. Pro is $39/month or $374/year ($31/month). Business is $79/month or $758/year ($63/month). Data Room is $199/month or $1,910/year ($159/month).
What payment methods does Papermark accept?
Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) through Stripe. No PayPal or invoicing on standard plans. Enterprise plans can do invoicing and wire transfers.
Does Papermark charge for implementation or onboarding?
No. Setup is self-service for all plans under Enterprise. You upload documents, create links, and configure settings yourself. Takes 10-15 minutes. Enterprise customers get implementation support included in their custom pricing.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes on monthly plans. Cancel before renewal and you won't be charged again. Annual plans are non-refundable but you can cancel to prevent auto-renewal. Your account stays active through the paid period.
Does Papermark have an API?
Yes, but documentation is limited. The API is available on Business plans and higher. Mostly used for custom integrations and automated document uploading. Not as robust as DocSend's API.
Does Papermark have a mobile app?
No native mobile app. The web interface is mobile-responsive so it works in your phone's browser. You can view analytics and share links from mobile, but uploading large documents is easier on desktop.
Are there limits on storage or documents?
No limits on any plan. Upload as many documents as you want. File size limit is 100MB per file, which covers most pitch decks and documents. Larger files work but upload slower.
Do I need to pay per user or can I share one account?
Pro plan is single-user. Business plan allows up to 5 users. Data Room has unlimited users. Sharing login credentials violates terms of service and creates tracking problems (you won't know which team member did what).
What happens if I exceed my plan limits?
Free plan: No hard limits on uploads. If you want more than 3 custom domains or to remove branding, you need to upgrade.
Business plan: If you add a 6th user, you'll need to upgrade to Data Room ($199/month). Papermark will prompt you to upgrade and may temporarily restrict new user additions.
Does Papermark offer refunds?
No refunds on monthly subscriptions (you can cancel to avoid future charges). Annual plans are non-refundable. You keep access through the paid period even if you cancel. Test thoroughly on the free plan before committing to annual pricing.
