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Alfresco vs IBM FileNet vs Nuxeo 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 May 2025, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Alfresco is 7.6%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FileNet is 10.2%, up from 9.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nuxeo is 1.6%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Content Management
 

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…
Emad Rizki - PeerSpot reviewer
Facilitates seamless integration for large enterprises with strong deployment capabilities
FileNet was scalable and could be implemented into big multinational organizations. However, it has become very expensive recently. Compared to low-code solutions such as Appian and outsystems, FileNet has gaps, mainly because it requires coding, which is not preferred by clients due to pricing concerns in Pakistan. We transitioned clients to cloud solutions, although FileNet has been strongly integrated with on-prem deployments.
reviewer2650419 - PeerSpot reviewer
Powerful data model building enables comprehensive document management for government sectors
The learning curve in Nuxeo is not easy, and it requires additional time. It's challenging to onboard new users or new developers. The resources on Hyland are good but lack exercises and use cases to apply by oneself during learning. There is not much practice to apply that knowledge directly on Nuxeo and get further details into the platform.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Alfresco allows broad searches with many index fields that you can search on, although the created fields and their values may not be intuitive."
"Alfresco's technical support is very fast and professional."
"The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes is also significant."
"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."
"Document repository."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the searching elements of the metadata."
"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 most valuable features are] scalability and ease of use. These features are important because the customer where we have deployed it has millions of documents... And over the last five years, the volume of the documents has been increasing. It's handling all of them and without any errors."
"It saves our customers time by 30 to 40 percent by eliminating the time to process paper."
"The most valuable feature is the way in which it enables clients and customers to quickly access the content and information that they use for everyday functions."
"It has the ability to mix document management and process automation."
"It puts governance in place around the content and processes. Access levels can be set to certain parts of the document based on role level."
"The application, in terms of durability, has been able to withstand the usage, given that it was installed in 2003 and it's still working."
"The usability is really good. Our business users are pleased with it. They seem to get what they are looking for, and it's very efficient."
"We have probably cut out at least 40 percent of what the work process was by easing out that whole distribution of paper."
"Nuxeo is very powerful in terms of building up the data model and the context model."
 

Cons

"Currently, documents in Alfresco are stored on a file server, which, while good for performance, is a security risk."
"Metadata, auto class, disposition log, and legal hold."
"I would like them to consider document capture functionality."
"The configuration of Alfresco is a big challenge."
"Alfresco has a very steep learning curve, and unfortunately, during the learning process, it's very easy to make errors, which often are unforgiving."
"Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities."
"The setup process for Alfresco was complex."
"I think the presentation layer could be improved - currently, it's too complex, and there are too many features cluttered all over the screen."
"The product is expensive."
"The most valuable features of IBM File Manager are workflow, content, and process capabilities."
"​I would like to see Azure AD added."
"FileNet needs improvement in pricing as it has become very expensive."
"I would like to see it able to capture NLP in an advanced search. It would also be good if it could capture images and segregate them in categories within a span of seconds."
"I think the support could be better, and it could improve."
"There is room for improvement in the scanning solution, Datacap. It's improving all the time. But since it's more an end-user software, the end-users are constantly improving their processes, and I believe that sometimes we're not catching up with their requirements."
"Simplifying both training and maintenance would be an improvement."
"The learning curve in Nuxeo is not easy, and it requires additional time. It's challenging to onboard new users or new developers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"It is cheaper compared to head-to-head competitors."
"If you buy Alfresco through a partner, there is usually a OEM licensing option."
"There are costs for any upgrade or additional functions."
"The licensing cost of FileNet is comparable."
"For small scale industries, they allow different options. They can do open source. It is the complexity of the data security that they should think about before they choose."
"Yearly, we pay for the maintenance, which is $20,000."
"​There are lots of components to the product. Make sure before you invest that you know which components you need.​​"
"1. It will be more expensive than estimated to setup. 2. You will need to double the staff while you are running the old system and installing the new system. 3. Depending on the number of documents to be migrated, make sure you understand the potentially massive amount of time and effort required to migrate the existing content to the new platform."
"The cost is about $40,000, plus yearly maintenance."
"IBM FileNet is an expensive solution."
"FileNet is not cheap, but you absolutely get what you pay for. ​"
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Insurance Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
23%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Insurance Company
9%
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Insurance Company
11%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alfresco?
The pricing of Alfresco starts at $100,000, which can be expensive for small projects. There is often a transition fr...
What needs improvement with Alfresco?
Currently, documents in Alfresco are stored on a file server, which, while good for performance, is a security risk. ...
What is your primary use case for Alfresco?
Mostly, the primary use case is to store documents related to transactions in our company. These documents could be s...
What do you like most about IBM FileNet?
The product is robust and can process a lot of documents for enterprise content management.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FileNet?
The product has become more expensive and requires significant investment for enterprise solutions.
What needs improvement with IBM FileNet?
FileNet needs improvement in pricing as it has become very expensive. Also, in comparison to local solutions, the nee...
What needs improvement with Nuxeo?
The learning curve in Nuxeo is not easy, and it requires additional time. It's challenging to onboard new users or ne...
What is your primary use case for Nuxeo?
We are mainly using Nuxeo for the government sector, and we are providing document management for those government se...
What advice do you have for others considering Nuxeo?
The overall rating for Nuxeo is eight out of ten. My advice would be to consider sector and customer requirements car...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Over 1,300 companies from 180 different countries. Including EuroStar, Saks Fifth Avenue, NASA Langley Research Center, and KLM.
Suncorp Group Limited, St. Vincent Health, Citigroup, SRCSD, and UK Dept for Work and Pensions.
Electronic Arts, Jeppesen, U.S. Navy, Orange, GSD&M, Sirona Dental, Skyscanner, Verizon, Unizin, Enernoc, NHS
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, OpenText, IBM and others in Enterprise Content Management. Updated: May 2025.
850,043 professionals have used our research since 2012.