# PixelFed vs polar

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

| | PixelFed | polar |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 64/100 | 71/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #12 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #1 of 13 in Billing |
| GitHub stars | 7 131 | 10 437 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +24 | +158 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 15 ✓ | 1 |
| Latest release | v0.15.2 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ | @polar-sh/cli@3.0.0 · 16 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | PHP | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

polar scores 71/100 against 64/100 for PixelFed, so it is the safer default.

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

polar is growing faster right now (+158 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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