PaperCut alternative
A PaperCut alternative for shared spaces and small offices
PaperCut is the best-known name in print management, and it earned that. But if the people printing are members, clients or guests on their own devices, you may want less to deploy. Commontray needs nothing installed on anyone’s device, releases with a QR sticker and is priced per location.
The short answer
PaperCut or Commontray?
Choose PaperCut if you manage the laptops and multifunction printers, want card login with copying and scanning tracked at the device, or have printers that only work with a driver. Choose Commontray if people print from their own phones and laptops, you want to charge per page fairly, and you’d rather not install anything on anyone’s device.
Choose PaperCut if…
- You want card or PIN login, with copying and scanning tracked at your MFDs.
- Some of your printers only work with the manufacturer’s driver.
- You manage the computers and can deploy software to all of them.
- You’d like a certified partner to install and support it.
- You need an on-premises server (PaperCut NG or MF).
Choose Commontray if…
- Members, clients or guests print from their own phones and laptops.
- You want nothing installed on anyone’s device, and no invitations to send.
- A QR sticker on the printer is enough to release at it.
- You charge per page and want color detected page by page.
- You’d rather pay one price per location than per printer or per user.
Side by side
Commontray and PaperCut’s products, compared
PaperCut has several products. These are the three people usually weigh against Commontray.
| Commontray | PaperCut Hive | PaperCut Mobility Print | PaperCut NG / MF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Printing, release, charging and reports for shared spaces | Cloud print management with no print server | Free printing from people’s own devices | Print management on your own server |
| On people’s devices | Nothing. They use a web page. | An edge node service and print client on Windows and Mac computers; a mobile app to release | Prints from the device’s own print dialog | Print queues set up by IT |
| What runs at your site | A computer you already have, or the Commontray Box | People’s own computers share the work (the “Edge Mesh”) | A computer that stays on (Windows, Mac or Linux) | An application server and your print servers |
| Release at the printer | Scan the QR sticker or tap Print now | Mobile app (QR code, NFC tag or list); card or code on supported MFDs | Not on its own | Secure Print Release at the device |
| Charge people per page | Yes. Color detected page by page, charged after printing | Check with PaperCut | With NG or MF | Yes: quotas, per-page charges or prepaid balances |
| Copying and scanning | No | With the embedded app on supported MFDs | No | With MF, on supported MFDs |
| Printers that need a driver | No | Check with PaperCut | Yes | Yes |
| How it’s priced | Per location, any number of people: free for one printer, then $29 or $59 a month | Annual subscription per printer, through partners | Free | NG per user, MF per MFD |
PaperCut details are from PaperCut’s own public website and documentation, checked in November 2026. Products and prices change, so check with them before you decide. Commontray prices are per location, in US dollars.
Where these facts come from
- PaperCut: How PaperCut Hive and Pocket work
- PaperCut: Edge Mesh, edge nodes and the Cloud Node
- PaperCut: How to get PaperCut (Hive pricing and partners)
- PaperCut: Hive guest printing
- PaperCut: Mobility Print
- PaperCut: How Mobility Print works
- PaperCut: FAQs (NG and MF licensing)
- PaperCut: guest printing (Secure Print Release)
- Cobot: printing solutions for coworking spaces (PaperCut pricing models)
Checked November 2026.
Credit where it’s due
What PaperCut does well
Control at the device
With PaperCut MF or Hive’s embedded app on supported multifunction printers, people log in at the printer and copying and scanning are tracked too. Commontray only handles printing.
Serverless done carefully
Hive’s Edge Mesh keeps each job on more than one computer, so a laptop going offline doesn’t lose it.
A free way in
Mobility Print is free, and gets phones, tablets and Chromebooks printing to the queues you already have.
People to help
Hive is sold and supported through certified partners, so there’s someone local to install it and look after it.
Where Commontray is different
Built for printers that people from different companies share
Nothing on anyone’s device
People open the print page in the browser they already have and print. There’s no edge node, no client, no driver and no app, which matters when the laptops belong to your members, not to you. See mobile printing.
No invitations to manage
A new member signs in on the print page and prints. Nobody has to invite them, approve them or set up their device first.
Billing that matches the tray
Color is detected page by page, and nothing is charged until the printer reports the pages as printed. If the printer reports fewer pages than were sent, people pay only for what it printed, and a job that fails costs nothing. See charging and credits.
One price per location
Per-printer and per-user pricing both grow as you grow. Commontray is one price per location for any number of people and printers. See pricing.
Release without hardware
A QR sticker is the release station: no card readers, no badges. How release works.
A box that hides the printers
Plug printers into the Commontray Box and they leave the shared network, so nobody can print around it.
Trying it alongside PaperCut
Moving from PaperCut, one printer at a time
-
Check your printers
Run the free printer checker. It tells you which printers can print without a driver.
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Start with one
Add one ready printer to Commontray, with PaperCut still running. Commontray sends jobs straight to the printer, so the two don’t get in each other’s way.
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Match your prices
Set the same per-page prices you charge today, and turn on release where you use it now.
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Move the rest
Move the other ready printers when you’re happy. Keep PaperCut for any that need a driver or copy and scan tracking.
Questions
PaperCut alternative questions
Is Commontray a replacement for PaperCut?
For printing, print release and charging per page in a coworking space, serviced office or small company, yes. For tracking copying and scanning at multifunction printers, card login at the device, or printers that only work with a manufacturer’s driver, PaperCut does things Commontray doesn’t.
Is PaperCut Mobility Print free?
Yes, PaperCut offers Mobility Print free of charge for printing from people’s own devices. It runs on a computer that stays switched on and works in front of your existing print queues and drivers. It’s about getting jobs to the printer, not charging for them, unless you add PaperCut NG or MF.
Can we run Commontray and PaperCut side by side?
Yes. Commontray sends jobs straight to the printer, so you can try it on one printer while PaperCut keeps running the rest. Many spaces keep PaperCut for printers that need a driver and use Commontray where people bring their own devices.
Does Commontray need a server like PaperCut NG or MF?
No. Commontray runs as a service on a computer you already have at the site (Windows, macOS or Linux, including a Raspberry Pi) or on the Commontray Box. There’s no print server and no driver to install anywhere.
How does pricing compare?
PaperCut Hive is an annual subscription priced by the number of printers, sold through PaperCut partners, and we didn’t find a public list price. PaperCut Pocket is priced per active user. Commontray is priced per location: per location, any number of people: free for one printer, then $29 or $59 a month. See pricing.
See if Commontray fits before you switch anything.
Run the free printer checker, then try Commontray on one printer. It’s free for your first printer.