# cobalt vs Postal

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

| | cobalt | Postal |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 ✓ | 72/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 45 in Download Management | #3 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 45 614 ✓ | 16 900 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 804 ✓ | +73 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 3 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | 3.3.7 · 3 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Svelte | Ruby |

## Which one should you pick?

cobalt scores 83/100 against 72/100 for Postal, so it is the safer default.

Postal ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for cobalt.

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

cobalt is growing faster right now (+1 804 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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