head to head · open source
ERPNext vs Polar
ERPNext has 39,326 GitHub stars, 12,835 forks, 1,822 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Polar has 10,270 stars, 787 forks, 141 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ERPNext leads on adoption by 283% (39,326 vs 10,270 stars). ERPNext is written in Python under GPL-3.0; Polar is written in Python under Apache-2.0. ERPNext has attracted 33% as many forks as stars, Polar 8%. Polar was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| ERPNext | Polar | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 10K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 13K | ⑂ 787 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ERPNext if
- You weight community size — 39K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Polar if
- You want the Polar feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Polar fits your workflow better
About ERPNext
ERPNext is a free and open source Enterprise Resource Planning system built on the Frappe Framework. It unifies core business functions—including accounting, procurement, manufacturing, CRM, HRMS, and asset management—into a single platform, eliminating the need for multiple proprietary tools. The project lives in the Python based Frappe ecosystem and is licensed under GPL 3.0.
read the full ERPNext overview →
About Polar
Polar is an open source billing platform and payment infrastructure project for digital products, SaaS applications, and AI workloads. It is written in Python, licensed under Apache 2.0, and built around FastAPI, Next.js, React, and Turborepo. The project positions itself as a financial layer for software that needs to charge for tokens, agents, compute, subscriptions, and usage based models.
read the full Polar overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ERPNext or Polar more popular?
ERPNext has 39,326 GitHub stars and Polar has 10,270. ERPNext has the larger community by that measure.
Are ERPNext and Polar free?
Both are open source. ERPNext is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Polar under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ERPNext and Polar?
ERPNext is written in Python and Polar in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ERPNext or Polar?
Choose ERPNext if you want the larger community (39,326 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Polar if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.