# Mealie vs Stirling-PDF

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

| | Mealie | Stirling-PDF |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 75/100 | 87/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 18 in Recipe Management | #1 of 46 in Document Management |
| GitHub stars | 13 713 | 95 260 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +411 | +2 347 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 23 | 25 ✓ |
| Latest release | v3.29.0 · 17 Oct 2026 | v3.2.2 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Other |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Stirling-PDF scores 87/100 against 75/100 for Mealie, so it is the safer default.

Stirling-PDF ships more often: 25 stable releases in the past year, against 23 for Mealie.

Stirling-PDF is growing faster right now (+2 347 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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