# excalidraw vs polar

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

| | excalidraw | polar |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 91/100 ✓ | 71/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 9 in Whiteboarding | #1 of 13 in Billing |
| GitHub stars | 134 777 ✓ | 10 436 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 944 ✓ | +157 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 1 |
| Latest release | v0.18.1 · 21 Apr 2026 | @polar-sh/cli@3.0.0 · 16 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

excalidraw scores 91/100 against 71/100 for polar, so it is the safer default.

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

excalidraw is growing faster right now (+1 944 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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