MediaCMSvspolar
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| MediaCMS | polar | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 67/100 | 71/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 3 in Video Hosting | #1 of 13 in Billing |
| GitHub stars | 5 171 | 10 436 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +46 | +157 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 26 | 1 |
| Latest release | v9.4.0 · 26 Oct 2026 | @polar-sh/cli@3.0.0 · 16 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | Python |
Which one should you pick?
polar scores 71/100 against 67/100 for MediaCMS, so it is the safer default.
MediaCMS ships more often: 26 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for polar.
If you want the quickest setup, MediaCMS is easier to run; polar needs more configuration.
polar is growing faster right now (+157 stars in 30 days).
MediaCMS details →polar details →