# Calibre vs polar

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

| | Calibre | polar |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 ✓ | 71/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 19 in Ebook Management | #1 of 13 in Billing |
| GitHub stars | 26 283 ✓ | 10 437 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +274 ✓ | +158 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 ✓ | 1 |
| Latest release | v9.17.0 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ | @polar-sh/cli@3.0.0 · 16 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Calibre scores 83/100 against 71/100 for polar, so it is the safer default.

Calibre ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for polar.

If you want the quickest setup, Calibre is easier to run; polar needs more configuration.

## Details

- [Calibre](https://selfhost.directory/project/calibre) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/calibre.md)
- [polar](https://selfhost.directory/project/polar) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/polar.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/calibre-vs-polar