# ActivityWatch vs Stirling-PDF

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | ActivityWatch | Stirling-PDF |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 | 87/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 11 in Time Tracking | #1 of 46 in Document Management |
| GitHub stars | 19 418 | 95 289 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +442 | +2 327 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 13 | 25 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.14.1 · 10 Oct 2026 | v3.2.2 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Stirling-PDF scores 87/100 against 80/100 for ActivityWatch, so it is the safer default.

Stirling-PDF ships more often: 25 stable releases in the past year, against 13 for ActivityWatch.

Stirling-PDF is growing faster right now (+2 327 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [ActivityWatch](https://selfhost.directory/project/activitywatch) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/activitywatch.md)
- [Stirling-PDF](https://selfhost.directory/project/stirling-pdf) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/stirling-pdf.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/activitywatch-vs-stirling-pdf