Self-hosted alternatives to Polarsteps
Want trip tracking and travel journals without handing your data to Polarsteps? These 7 self-hosted apps run on your own server. Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $5/month.
About Polarsteps: Travel tracking and trip journal app.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TREK | Active | 15.4k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Dawarich | Active | 10.8k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| AdventureLog | Active | 3.9k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| OpenTripPlanner | Active | 2.8k | LGPL-3.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| TRIP | Active | 2k | MIT | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Surmai | Active | 289 | MIT | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Traccar | Unknown | – | Apache-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
The options in detail
1. TREK
Collaborative trip planner with interactive maps, day-by-day itineraries, budgets, packing lists, reservations, journey journaling, and PWA support.
Active Last commit 2026-10-31. Latest release v5.1.0 (2026-10-31). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. Dawarich
Visualize your location history, track your movements, and analyze your travel patterns with complete privacy and control (alternative to Google Timeline a.k.a. Google Location History).
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release 1.21.0 (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
3. AdventureLog
Travel tracker and trip planner.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. Latest release v0.13.1 (2026-10-27). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
4. OpenTripPlanner
Multimodal trip planning software based on OpenStreetMap data and consuming published GTFS-formatted data to suggest routes using local public transit systems.
Active Last commit 2026-11-05. Latest release v2.10.0 (2026-09-09). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. TRIP
Minimalist POI Map tracker and Trip planner.
Active Last commit 2026-10-02. Latest release 1.50.1 (2026-10-02). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
6. Surmai
Collaborative personal and family travel organizer.
Active Last commit 2026-10-24. Latest release v0.5.6 (2026-10-01). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
7. Traccar
Java application to track GPS positions. Supports loads of tracking devices and protocols, has an Android and iOS App. Has a web interface to view your trips.
Unknown Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
Why self-host instead of Polarsteps?
- Own your data — it lives on a server you control, with backups you decide on.
- Predictable cost — a small VPS often replaces per-seat pricing for a whole team or family.
- No lock-in — open-source licenses let you keep running the software even if a vendor disappears.
The trade-off: you are responsible for updates, backups and security. Pick an app marked Active (a commit in the last 90 days) and with Docker support for the easiest ride.
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Other alternatives guides
Polarsteps is a trademark of its owner; this site is not affiliated with it. Listings come from the community-maintained awesome-selfhosted list.