# polar vs Strapi

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

| | polar | Strapi |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 | 85/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 13 in Billing | #1 of 13 in Headless CMS |
| GitHub stars | 10 437 | 73 400 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +158 | +170 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 31 ✓ |
| Latest release | @polar-sh/cli@3.0.0 · 16 Oct 2026 | v5.60.0 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Strapi scores 85/100 against 71/100 for polar, so it is the safer default.

Strapi ships more often: 31 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for polar.

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

## Details

- [polar](https://selfhost.directory/project/polar) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/polar.md)
- [Strapi](https://selfhost.directory/project/strapi) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/strapi.md)

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