head to head · open source
Polar vs Invio
Polar has 10,454 GitHub stars, 811 forks, 141 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Invio has 1,199 stars, 148 forks, 17 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Polar leads on adoption by 772% (10,454 vs 1,199 stars). Polar is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Invio is written in TypeScript under Unlicense. Polar has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Invio 12%. 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Polar | Invio | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 10K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Unlicense |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 811 | ⑂ 148 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Polar if
- You weight community size — 10K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Invio if
- You want the Invio feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Unlicense license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Invio fits your workflow better
About Polar
Website • Docs • API Reference Polar: A billing platform for the intelligence era Turn usage into revenue. Polar is the financial layer for a new generation of intelligent software, built for AI startups that need to charge for tokens, agents, and compute without building billing infrastructure from scratch. Ship any pricing model in an afternoon. Usage billing, subscriptions, seats, credits, trials, and discounts. Compose them however your product charges. Meter what matters. Bill tokens, API calls, agent runs, GPU seconds, and storage with precision down to the event. Checkouts that convert , realtime metrics…
read the full Polar overview →
About Invio
Selfhosted invoicing without the bloat. Website • Live Demo • Documentation • Support 🌟 Why Invio? Zero Bloat Create an invoice, share a link, get paid. No menus to dig through, no setup wizards, no fluff. Fully Selfhosted Your data, stays your data. Host it on your own hardware and never worry about what happens when a SaaS company changes its pricing or shuts down. Client Friendly Skip the 'how do I log in?' emails. Just send a secure link, no account needed. Free. Forever. No subscription, no per invoice charges, no hidden fees. Invio is fully free and open source. Good tools shouldn't cost a fortune. 🚀…
read the full Invio overview →
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More Finance & Accounting projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Finance & Accounting field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Polar or Invio more popular?
Polar has 10,454 GitHub stars and Invio has 1,199. Polar has the larger community by that measure.
Are Polar and Invio free?
Both are open source. Polar is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Invio under Unlicense. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Polar and Invio?
Polar is written in Python and Invio in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Polar or Invio?
Choose Polar if you want the larger community (10,454 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Invio if its feature set, stack or Unlicense licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.