# docker-mailserver vs HQBase

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

| | docker-mailserver | HQBase |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 ✓ | 50/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 16 in Mail Server | #56 of 106 in Email |
| GitHub stars | 19 699 ✓ | 350 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +826 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 2 | 9 ✓ |
| Latest release | v16.0.1 · 4 Sept 2026 | v1.4.5 · 12 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Shell | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

docker-mailserver scores 80/100 against 50/100 for HQBase, so it is the safer default.

HQBase ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for docker-mailserver.

docker-mailserver is growing faster right now (+826 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [docker-mailserver](https://selfhost.directory/project/docker-mailserver) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/docker-mailserver.md)
- [HQBase](https://selfhost.directory/project/hqbase) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/hqbase.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/docker-mailserver-vs-hqbase