CryptPad vs HedgeDoc

CryptPad

• Groups that do not want their host to be able to read their documents
• Working with people who should not need to create an account
• Schools and nonprofits: dedicated instances are half price for them
• Organizations able to run their own instance

HedgeDoc

• Teams that write in Markdown and keep notes on their own server
• Building and presenting slide decks from Markdown
• Small servers: the project says it runs on a Raspberry Pi

CryptPad

• Prices are in euros. Paid plans on cryptpad.fr run from €5 to €100 a month and mainly add storage and priority support.
• A free cryptpad.fr account has 1 GB of storage and a 25 MB upload limit, and guest documents are deleted after 90 days of inactivity.
• CryptPad runs in the browser; the project's site lists no desktop or mobile apps.
• A dedicated instance starts at €3,000 a year for 50 users and 100 GB of storage.

HedgeDoc

• There is no hosted service: you install it on your own server, from the release bundle or the Docker image, and put a reverse proxy in front of it.
• PDF export was removed because of security vulnerabilities; the FAQ suggests the browser's print-to-PDF function in the meantime.
• Only one server process can run against a database, so the FAQ rules out running several instances side by side.
• The public demo comes with a warning about its reliability and is meant for trying the editor, not for keeping notes.

CryptPad

Encryption in the browser

All data is encrypted in the browser before it leaves the device, so the service and its administrators cannot see document contents or user data.

A suite of document apps

Rich Text, Document, Sheet, Presentation, Kanban, Code/Markdown, Form, Whiteboard and Diagram apps share import and export, history, a user list and a chat.

Collaboration without an account

Changes are synchronized in real time, and guests can open and edit shared documents in every app without giving any personal information.

CryptDrive and teams

Registered users get a CryptDrive with folders, shared folders, templates and tags, file uploads, contacts and fine-grained access controls. Team drives and calendars support group work.

Self-hosting and public instances

CryptPad is free software that anyone can host. The project lists third-party public instances that passed its checks for an up-to-date version and recommended security settings.

Dedicated instances from XWiki

XWiki offers a managed cloud instance or on-premise support with your own domain, logo and colors, storage quota controls and single sign-on integration.

HedgeDoc

Collaborative Markdown editing

Notes are written in Markdown and edited by several people in real time. Sharing a note's link is all it takes to bring co-workers in.

Presentation mode

Slides are written in Markdown and presented straight from the browser, powered by reveal.js.

Graphs and diagrams

Notes can include many types of graphs and diagrams as well as embedded content, all written inside the Markdown.

Permissions and revisions

Each note's permissions are set from a dropdown, and revisions keep track of changes so a note can be reverted to any older version.

Sign-in options

The documentation has setup guides for LDAP, OAuth and SAML, and for signing in with GitHub, GitLab, Keycloak, Mattermost, Nextcloud, Authelia and Microsoft Entra ID.

Light server requirements

It needs Node.js 20 or later and a PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB or SQLite database, and the project says it runs smoothly on a Raspberry Pi.

CryptPad

• Free€0

  A registered account on cryptpad.fr with 1 GB of storage, or an account on another public instance. Hosting your own instance is also free.

• Personal€5

  per month, or €55 per year

  5 GB storage quota and 1 drive on cryptpad.fr, with a 150 MB file upload limit and priority support.

• Duo€10

  per month, or €110 per year

  25 GB storage quota and 2 drives on cryptpad.fr, with priority support.

• Team€15

  per month, or €165 per year

  75 GB storage quota and 6 drives on cryptpad.fr, with priority support.

• Org 25€50

  per month, or €500 per year

  Organization plan with a 100 GB quota and 25 drives. Org 100 costs €100 a month or €1,000 a year for 150 GB and 100 drives.

• Your Own InstanceFrom €3,000

  per year (Mini: 50 users, 100 GB)

  A dedicated instance from XWiki, managed in the cloud or supported on-premise, up to €25,000 a year for 1,000 users and 1 TB.

HedgeDoc

• HedgeDoc$0

  The full editor, installed on your own server from the release bundle or the Docker image, with help from the community forum and Matrix chat.

CryptPad

• Education

  50% off a dedicated instance for education

  Education customers get 50% off enterprise pricing for their own instance: from €1,500 a year for 50 users and 100 GB instead of €3,000.

• Nonprofit

  50% off a dedicated instance for nonprofits

  Nonprofits get 50% off enterprise pricing for their own instance: from €1,500 a year for 50 users and 100 GB instead of €3,000.

• Annual discount

  Lower price with yearly billing on cryptpad.fr

  Paying yearly costs €55 instead of €60 for Personal and €500 instead of €600 for Org 25, a saving of about 8% and 17%.

HedgeDoc

No public discounts listed.