# ESPHome vs Stalwart Mail Server

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

| | ESPHome | Stalwart Mail Server |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 79/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #4 of 104 in Home Automation | #2 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 11 979 | 15 484 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +257 | +681 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 46 ✓ | 31 |
| Latest release | 2026.10.1 · 27 Oct 2026 | v1.0.1 · 28 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | AGPL-3.0-only AND LicenseRef-SEL |
| Main language | C | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

Stalwart Mail Server scores 79/100 against 78/100 for ESPHome, so it is the safer default.

ESPHome ships more often: 46 stable releases in the past year, against 31 for Stalwart Mail Server.

Stalwart Mail Server is growing faster right now (+681 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [ESPHome](https://selfhost.directory/project/esphome) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/esphome.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/esphome-vs-stalwart-mail-server