# OpenEMR vs polar

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

| | OpenEMR | polar |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 ✓ | 71/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 5 in Healthcare | #1 of 13 in Billing |
| GitHub stars | 5 555 | 10 435 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +89 | +157 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 ✓ | 1 |
| Latest release | v8_5_0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ | @polar-sh/cli@3.0.0 · 16 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | PHP | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

OpenEMR scores 72/100 against 71/100 for polar, so it is the safer default.

OpenEMR ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for polar.

## Details

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

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