# hanko vs Postal

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

| | hanko | Postal |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 68/100 | 72/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #7 of 40 in Authentication | #3 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 9 052 | 16 899 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +17 | +72 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 2 | 3 ✓ |
| Latest release | backend/v3.1.0 · 1 Oct 2026 ✓ | 3.3.7 · 3 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Ruby |

## Which one should you pick?

Postal scores 72/100 against 68/100 for hanko, so it is the safer default.

Postal ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for hanko.

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

Postal is growing faster right now (+72 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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