head to head · open source
Polar vs Meteroid
Polar has 10,454 GitHub stars, 811 forks, 141 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Meteroid has 1,354 stars, 87 forks, 33 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Polar leads on adoption by 672% (10,454 vs 1,354 stars). Polar is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Meteroid is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0. Polar has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Meteroid 6%. Polar was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (payments), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| Polar | Meteroid | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 10K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 811 | ⑂ 87 |
| 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 Meteroid if
- You want the Meteroid feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Meteroid 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 Meteroid
Cloud native pricing and billing platform for SaaS, Infrastructure, and AI companies 🔥. Meteroid addresses the complexities and limitations of traditional billing systems, particularly for businesses transitioning to usage based models or product led growth principles. It eliminates the gap between customer usage and billing, ensuring accuracy and transparency. We'd love your support or contribution! Leave a star ⭐ and join our Discord! 💡 Just want to try it? Skip the setup and spin up a free workspace on Meteroid Cloud — ready in seconds, no credit card. Talk to us ! How It Works Meteroid integrates with your…
read the full Meteroid overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Polar or Meteroid more popular?
Polar has 10,454 GitHub stars and Meteroid has 1,354. Polar has the larger community by that measure.
Are Polar and Meteroid free?
Both are open source. Polar is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Meteroid under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Polar and Meteroid?
Polar is written in Python and Meteroid in Rust. 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 Meteroid?
Choose Polar if you want the larger community (10,454 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Meteroid if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.