# certificates vs Stalwart Mail Server

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

| | certificates | Stalwart Mail Server |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 79/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 2 in PKI | #2 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 9 021 | 15 479 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +118 | +676 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 31 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.30.2 · 23 Mar 2026 | v1.0.1 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0-only AND LicenseRef-SEL |
| Main language | Go | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

Stalwart Mail Server scores 79/100 against 72/100 for certificates, so it is the safer default.

Stalwart Mail Server ships more often: 31 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for certificates.

Stalwart Mail Server is growing faster right now (+676 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [certificates](https://selfhost.directory/project/certificates) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/certificates.md)
- [Stalwart Mail Server](https://selfhost.directory/project/stalwart-mail-server) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/stalwart-mail-server.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/certificates-vs-stalwart-mail-server