# authentik vs Postal

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

| | authentik | Postal |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 81/100 ✓ | 72/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 3 in IAM | #3 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 26 161 ✓ | 16 899 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +449 ✓ | +72 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 9 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | version/2026.8.5 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ | 3.3.7 · 3 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | MIT |
| Main language | Python | Ruby |

## Which one should you pick?

authentik scores 81/100 against 72/100 for Postal, so it is the safer default.

authentik ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Postal.

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

authentik is growing faster right now (+449 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [authentik](https://selfhost.directory/project/authentik) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/authentik.md)
- [Postal](https://selfhost.directory/project/postal) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/postal.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/authentik-vs-postal