# cobalt vs polar

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

| | cobalt | polar |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 ✓ | 71/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 45 in Download Management | #1 of 13 in Billing |
| GitHub stars | 45 618 ✓ | 10 437 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 808 ✓ | +158 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 1 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | @polar-sh/cli@3.0.0 · 16 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Svelte | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

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

polar ships more often: 1 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for cobalt.

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

cobalt is growing faster right now (+1 808 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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