# OpenList vs polar

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

| | OpenList | polar |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 ✓ | 71/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 34 in File Management | #1 of 13 in Billing |
| GitHub stars | 25 348 ✓ | 10 437 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +579 ✓ | +158 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 15 ✓ | 1 |
| Latest release | v4.2.9 · 25 Oct 2026 ✓ | @polar-sh/cli@3.0.0 · 16 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

OpenList scores 80/100 against 71/100 for polar, so it is the safer default.

OpenList ships more often: 15 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for polar.

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

OpenList is growing faster right now (+579 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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