# elasticsearch vs polar

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

| | elasticsearch | polar |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84/100 ✓ | 71/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 41 in Search Engines | #1 of 13 in Billing |
| GitHub stars | 78 427 ✓ | 10 436 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +447 ✓ | +157 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 32 ✓ | 1 |
| Latest release | v9.5.5 · 6 Oct 2026 | @polar-sh/cli@3.0.0 · 16 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | Other | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Java | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

elasticsearch scores 84/100 against 71/100 for polar, so it is the safer default.

elasticsearch ships more often: 32 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for polar.

elasticsearch is growing faster right now (+447 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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