PaperCut
Print management solutions
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
Take the quiz to check if PaperCut and its alternatives fit your requirements.
$1.77 per active user per month
Free TrialFree version
Small
Medium
Large
- Information technology and software
- Education and training
- Public sector and nonprofit organizations
What is PaperCut
PaperCut is print management software used to track, control, and secure printing across networked printers and multifunction devices. It is commonly deployed by IT teams in education, government, and commercial environments to reduce waste, allocate printing costs, and enforce print policies. The platform typically combines user authentication, print job rules, reporting, and optional secure release workflows, with deployment options that include on-premises and cloud-based services depending on the edition.
Strong print policy controls
PaperCut provides rule-based controls such as quotas, charging/cost allocation, and print policies (for example, duplex or grayscale enforcement). These controls help organizations standardize printing behavior across departments and locations. The policy engine supports common administrative needs like restricting color printing or limiting access to specific devices. This aligns well with environments that need measurable governance over print usage.
Secure print release workflows
PaperCut supports secure print release (pull printing) to reduce unattended output and improve document confidentiality. Users can authenticate at devices to release jobs, which helps address common security and compliance requirements. This workflow also reduces waste from abandoned print jobs. It is particularly relevant for shared-device environments such as campuses and offices.
Broad device and directory integration
PaperCut commonly integrates with enterprise identity sources (for example, directory services) to map printing activity to users and groups. It also supports integration with many printer/MFD ecosystems and can work across mixed fleets. This helps IT teams centralize administration without requiring a single hardware vendor. The integration approach supports both reporting and enforcement use cases.
Edition-dependent feature gaps
Capabilities vary by product edition and deployment model, which can affect feature availability for specific requirements. Some organizations may need to evaluate whether advanced workflows, device support, or cloud features are included in their chosen edition. This can introduce complexity during procurement and rollout planning. It may also require add-ons or upgrades to meet certain enterprise needs.
Complexity in large deployments
In multi-site or high-volume environments, print infrastructure dependencies (print servers, device configuration, network segmentation) can increase implementation effort. Ongoing administration may require careful policy design and monitoring to avoid user friction. Organizations with many device models can spend time standardizing embedded app behavior and authentication methods. This is typical of enterprise print management but can be a constraint for lean IT teams.
Reporting requires tuning
While usage reporting is a core capability, organizations often need to configure reports, filters, and chargeback structures to match internal accounting or departmental models. Data quality can depend on consistent user identity mapping and device configuration. Stakeholders may request custom views that require additional setup or exports. This can add time before reporting becomes operationally useful.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| PaperCut Pocket | $1.90 per active user/month (monthly); 51-100: $1.81; 101-200: $1.77; 200+ : Contact sales | Monthly subscription billed per active user (Unique Active User). Starts with a 40-day free trial with full features; pay-monthly via credit card; pricing shown in USD tiers on official site. |
| PaperCut NG | Free for businesses with 5 users or less; For >5 users: Get a Quote / Buy Online (pricing not publicly listed on the summary page) | Perpetual (one-time) licensing based on number of users; Maintenance & Support (M&S) mandatory for the first 12 months; buy online or request a formal quote. |
| PaperCut MF | Custom pricing (contact reseller / sales) | Flagship on-premises/embedded product. Pricing is customized due to hardware/software variations; sold via authorized resellers. Has unified subscription option announced for MF/Hive. |
| PaperCut Hive | Custom subscription pricing — contact authorized reseller | Cloud-native subscription; pricing based on number of Multifunction Devices (MFDs) registered; sold via certified reseller network. |
| PaperCut Mobility Print | Completely free | Free tool offered by PaperCut as a Google Cloud Print alternative (no charge). |
Seller details
PaperCut Software International Pty Ltd
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1998
Private
https://www.papercut.com/
https://x.com/papercut
https://www.linkedin.com/company/papercut/
