---
title: "What Does Document Management Cost? Models and Real Numbers"
description: "License, flat rate or pay-per-use? Which cost models exist for document management, which hidden items lurk and how you calculate."
type: "wissen"
product: "documents"
slug: "dokumentenmanagement-kosten"
source_language: "de"
target_languages: ["de", "en", "es", "pl", "tr"]
published: "2026-06-10"
status: "publish"
faq_json: [{"q":"Which cost models exist for document management?","a":"Essentially three: license per user and month, flat or package prices, and pay-per-use, where billing is per processed document."}, {"q":"What does document management cost at webRichtung?","a":"Account and users cost 0 euros. Billing is per processed document from 0.09 euros, in batch 0.06 euros; the archive storage is included in the current model. 1 Credit corresponds to 1 euro net."}, {"q":"Which hidden costs should I check?","a":"Typical items are setup and training, minimum terms, surcharges for archive storage, scanner or email connection, as well as costs for additional users."}, {"q":"Is pay-per-use worthwhile for small companies?","a":"Often yes: without a base fee you only pay for the actual document volume. With 100 documents a month the costs are in the single-digit euro range."}, {"q":"How do I calculate my DMS costs realistically?","a":"Count your monthly document volume (incoming invoices, outgoing invoices, scans, contracts) and calculate it against each pricing model – including all users who need access."}]
language: "en"
source_id: "wissen/dokumentenmanagement-kosten"
source_hash: "d3528b75d6104f953cafd4d6ba77123efa829c05d2d55ebae63cfc23f9c88d3c"
---

Document management is paid for in three models: as a license per user and month, as a flat or package price, or usage-based per processed document (pay-per-use). What ends up cheaper depends on your document volume and your team size – for small companies with a few hundred documents a month, pay-per-use is usually the most economical option, because there are no base costs.

## The three cost models compared

- **License per user:** Plannable, but expensive if many people only access occasionally. Each read access costs a full seat.
- **Flat rate/package:** A fixed price for a quota. Works if your volume is stable – below it you pay for air, above it you have to buy more.
- **Pay-per-use:** No base price, you pay for consumption. Scales from "almost nothing" to high volume, without having to dimension in advance.

## A concrete calculation

With the pay-per-use model from [webRichtung documents](https://www.webrichtung.de/module/documents/) the calculation looks like this: account and users cost €0, processing a document from €0.09 – in batch, for example during the mass upload of larger collections, €0.06. The archive storage is included in the current model; what's relevant for billing is the workspace. Payment is made with Credits, where 1 Credit corresponds to 1 euro net.

Example calculations:

- **100 documents/month** (typical small business): around €9 per month
- **500 documents/month:** around €45 per month
- **One-time legacy migration of 10,000 documents** in batch: around €600 – one-time, not monthly

For comparison: a license model with e.g. €15 per user and month costs a five-person team €900 per year – regardless of whether a single document was filed.

## Hidden costs you should check

The list price is rarely the final price. Ask every provider about:

1. **Setup and training:** Are there onboarding flat fees or consultant days?
2. **Minimum term and minimum users:** Are you committing for 12–36 months?
3. **Storage costs:** Does the archive cost extra when the collection grows?
4. **Connections:** Are scanner connection, email import or interfaces surcharge modules?
5. **Additional users:** What does it cost when the tax advisor or a temp needs access?

## The other side: What does no DMS cost?

An honest calculation includes the status quo. Search time is the biggest invisible item: anyone who searches for documents in mailboxes, folders and filing trays several times a day burns working time worth a multiple of the software costs. On top of that comes the risk of incomplete retention during a tax audit. So the question is less "What does a DMS cost?" than "From what document volume does having none cost more?" – and that threshold is lower than most people think. Which selection criteria matter beyond price is shown in the article [Comparing document management software](/en/wissen/dokumentenmanagement-software-vergleich.html).

## Rules of thumb for the decision

- **Under 1,000 documents per month:** Pay-per-use is almost unbeatable – no base costs, full feature scope.
- **Many readers, few filers:** Models where users are free avoid the classic license lever.
- **Fluctuating volume** (seasonal business, project peaks): with usage-based billing you only pay for the peak when it comes.
- **Legacy migration planned:** watch for batch prices – the difference between €0.09 and €0.06 per document adds up noticeably with ten thousand documents.