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Alfresco vs Hyland OnBase vs IBM ECM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Alfresco is 7.6%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hyland OnBase is 5.7%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ECM is 2.5%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Content Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Hyland OnBase5.7%
Alfresco7.6%
IBM ECM2.5%
Other84.2%
Enterprise Content Management
 

Featured Reviews

Maria Giulia - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at Wells Fargo
Streamlined document workflows have improved collaboration and supported compliant record management
Alfresco delivers an open, scalable, cloud-native content, process, and governance management suite. When it comes to document management, it is one of the best and top-notch solutions available. Alfresco helps us to quickly find and access information from anywhere on any device using web-based viewing tools. It is a very intelligent tool because it provides intelligent process management where integrated process and content service capabilities streamline content-centric processes and enable faster and more informed decision-making. I love the basic workflows that are easy enough for casual users to set up and utilize. Cloud synchronization capability provides a great way to share documents with third parties and to use as a backup system for critical documents. The best features Alfresco offers include the Alfresco mobile app, folder rules that are easy to set up, and the ability to make metadata assessment easier to automate. Easy customization and support from Alfresco are great advantages. We have been able to automate most of the repetitive tasks using folder rules and metadata automation, saving a lot of time and cost. Through the Alfresco mobile app, it makes it easy for those on the road to access, approve, and share documents, promoting collaboration. Deal flow processes run much more efficiently. Compliance needs are easily met in a cost-effective manner.
Arjurn Dakash - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at Deloitte
Workflow automation has transformed case management and reduced errors across our processes
Hyland OnBase is a great tool for document storage and retrieval, automating business processes using workflow, and building applications in WorkView. It saves a lot of time, reduces human errors, and is very cost-effective. Hyland OnBase has drastically improved our business processes and made everyone's jobs easier. Hyland OnBase is a fantastic system that does a lot for my organization. We use it for indexing and storing documents as the main reason we use Hyland OnBase, but it also has many features that we use every day. Workflows are the most common way that our employees interact with Hyland OnBase. We also ingest thousands of documents every day, and with our continued rate of growth, we do not see Hyland OnBase having any trouble handling the added traffic. It is very scalable. The best features Hyland OnBase offers include workflows, document retention and security, document ingesting and indexing, and document retrieval and storage. The user-friendly interface makes it very easy to use and provides a smooth learning curve for new users. Workflow is used to quickly and easily configure and improve business processes. We also have automation through workflow, which saves time and cost. Reporting dashboards allow us to create useful reports to keep personnel informed, making data-driven decisions easier. While we have grown a lot over the past five years, Hyland OnBase has allowed us to maintain our existing workflows rather than hiring additional employees, requiring fewer employees thanks to Hyland OnBase. Since Hyland OnBase is our central repository for all documents, our documents are more secure, allow greater work flexibility, especially for remote work, are more easily accessible, and are smarter. It has changed the way we as a company work. Through workflow automation, we have been able to save a lot of time, with forty to fifty-five percent of time being saved currently.
Thinh Tran - PeerSpot reviewer
BPM Consultant at TECHCOMBANK
Has supported enterprise document storage but lacks cloud readiness and AI capabilities
The new version of IBM ECM is at the end of support, and we need to migrate to a new version to get open support. We need AI capabilities from IBM ECM for additional functionalities in the next release. Specifically, AI is needed for finding documents. The trend is moving toward AI, and for managing many documents effectively, we need AI capabilities. Currently, IBM ECM only handles physical files, not unstructured files. IBM needs to work alongside customers and share best practices for IBM ECM. Reading the IBM Redbook alone is not sufficient for the knowledge we need to build the best architecture for my company. IBM ECM needs to improve the cloud version, such as compatibility with Amazon Cloud, not only IBM Cloud, to make their product more competitive.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Alfresco has positively impacted my organization by improving information flow to the shop floor, enabling electronic filing of our parts and drawings, and increasing employee efficiency."
"I like the ease of use, sections, and calendar."
"Alfresco is the only enterprise CMS that has features like contribution, sharing, workflows, automation and robust content and record management, that are also Open Source."
"The initial setup was straightforward, because Alfresco also provides a stack installer that includes the required supporting software."
"Document repository."
"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 product allows engineering teams and developers to introduce new things in a seamless and easy way."
"Alfresco is the most widely used open source ECM in the world and it has characteristics that I really like such as a Java based platform, lots of integration points, many protocols for accessing it, advanced workflow support, scripting, easily customizable user interface, a concept of a group/team based working area called site."
"The retention module is one of the most valuable features. Whatever we scan onto the system can be identified and we are notified when the records are due to be disposed."
"It provided data security features, allowing restrictions on sensitive documents, such as who could view or modify them."
"Hyland OnBase has drastically improved our business processes and made everyone's jobs easier."
"The most valuable features are that it's very secure and provides audit trails for our documents."
"I like the cloud and its integrability."
"The product's initial setup phase is not difficult."
"OnBase is a remarkable tool. It is a well-done product. Hyland has a lot of experience in building it and looking for new things for clients in terms of functionalities. It has amazing stability, and it can grow horizontally and vertically. It is built for growth. Their technical support is also quite good and available throughout the year."
"With Hyland OnBase, every document is unique, and access can be restricted and audited depending on user permission, allowing a company to take control of their information and be more productive."
"The most valuable features are the enterprise scaling capabilities."
"The content management is all about you as you can make the same content for minimal purpose solutions applications."
"FileNet/IBM really excels when you get into the hundreds of thousands – the millions – of documents, and having some structure and some metadata on those documents."
"The experiences of our internal and external customers have absolutely changed since implementing the solution, as it is a pleasure to use the system to manage the data, we are more organized, we are more agile, we have more information, and we can react to that information better."
"The most valuable feature of Content Manager is its flexibility in handling a lot of documents and document images; being an IBM product, I like that."
"With the new version of Datacap that we're on now, what had took nine months to train somebody, now takes just a couple weeks."
"The scalability is a valuable feature, that we're able to display our documents to so many people."
"We have been using it for awhile for the content management purposes of some of the bank's co-functionality, and we have not seen many issues lately, thus, so far, so good in terms of performance."
 

Cons

"One area where Alfresco can be improved is the ability to scan directly using Alfresco."
"We did encounter some stability issues when there were many simultaneous requests on the server."
"Alfresco can be improved by adding some more APIs, although the existing APIs provide the required features very well."
"The configuration of Alfresco is a big challenge."
"Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities."
"One of the main areas that should be improved is when users are members of 1,000 sites or more, certain features such as site dashlets do not work properly."
"Currently, documents in Alfresco are stored on a file server, which, while good for performance, is a security risk."
"I would like them to consider document capture functionality."
"The solution’s initial setup is a little difficult."
"An area for improvement would be the training - getting our people up to speed on how to use it required more training than we expected due to the complexity of the solution."
"We are struggling with duplicates and would like to have OCR functionality when using this solution."
"Hyland OnBase could be improved in terms of service support response time."
"The application could potentially be more open-source, allowing integration with more solutions."
"Software malfunctioning usually occurs when we receive documents from external sources."
"For my case, there should be a cleaner, easy-to-use change management and migration tool, which would be great."
"As the system grows in terms of number of modules, features, and functionality, options can be confusing and they can conflict with other options that you enable."
"I think we need to see less dependence on Java, and get away from those applets."
"There are definitely challenges. It's not an easy solution."
"Currently, IBM ECM only handles physical files, not unstructured files."
"Datacap is a very complex system. It is very much an ease-of-use issue."
"With Datacap, the development piece should definitely be improved; the usability. It's a little hard to use."
"We abandoned our Case manager solution as it was so complex and cost-prohibitive for us."
"I think it's already getting away from Java applets. A lot of our users struggle with keeping up to date with Java versioning, so a lot of the functions they're doing, like printing, emailing, and even some of the viewing, they're struggling with."
"ACCE and some of the other UI is not very intuitive for new users."
 

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."
"The solution costs around $6,000 per month."
"The tool's price is high."
"They can do better in terms of the pricing model. It is a really expensive tool in Latin America. They should have different prices for different regions."
"OnBase is reasonably priced."
"There are a number of different types of licenses. There are concurrent licenses, individual licenses and imaging licenses."
"Reach out to local IBM partners.​"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Construction Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Large Enterprise16
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alfresco?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing is that Alfresco is very cheap and cost-effective.
What needs improvement with Alfresco?
One area where Alfresco can be improved is the ability to scan directly using Alfresco. Additionally, I would appreci...
What is your primary use case for Alfresco?
My main use case for Alfresco is that I implemented Alfresco Content Services to solve complex enterprise problems fo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hyland OnBase?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that it is very cost-effective and affordable.
What needs improvement with Hyland OnBase?
Hyland OnBase could be improved in terms of service support response time. More timely updates to solution software s...
What is your primary use case for Hyland OnBase?
Hyland OnBase is used across the entirety of the organization in a variety of different ways, and its primary use is ...
What do you like most about IBM ECM?
The tool is a very stable solution with high availability and no information leakage. It has built-in API integration...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM ECM?
The product is expensive and has a perpetual license.
What needs improvement with IBM ECM?
The new version of IBM ECM is at the end of support, and we need to migrate to a new version to get open support. We ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
OnBase
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Over 1,300 companies from 180 different countries. Including EuroStar, Saks Fifth Avenue, NASA Langley Research Center, and KLM.
Honda France Industries, Hill County Texas, Hylant Group, ING Lease France, State of South Carolina, Syracuse University, Swindon College, Rhode Island Department of Human Services, Rochester Institute of Technology, Moen, Odense University Hospital
KeyBank, Standard Chartered Bank, Union Bank, Sistema Tecnol‹gico de Monterrey, Illinois Department of Human Services, UnitedHealth Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, IBM, Adobe and others in Enterprise Content Management. Updated: March 2026.
885,444 professionals have used our research since 2012.