# billion-mail vs Mailu

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

| | billion-mail | Mailu |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 69/100 | 69/100 |
| Rank in category | #5 of 16 in Mail Server | #8 of 106 in Email |
| GitHub stars | 15 961 ✓ | 7 595 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +326 ✓ | +72 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 22 ✓ |
| Latest release | v4.9 · 11 Dec 2025 | 2024.06.67 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

billion-mail and Mailu score the same (69/100), so the choice comes down to the details below.

Mailu ships more often: 22 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for billion-mail.

If you want the quickest setup, Mailu is easier to run; billion-mail needs more configuration.

billion-mail is growing faster right now (+326 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [billion-mail](https://selfhost.directory/project/billion-mail) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/billion-mail.md)
- [Mailu](https://selfhost.directory/project/mailu) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mailu.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/billion-mail-vs-mailu