# HQBase vs Mail-in-a-Box

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

| | HQBase | Mail-in-a-Box |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 50/100 | 72/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #56 of 106 in Email | #3 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 351 | 15 447 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +29 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 9 ✓ | 4 |
| Latest release | v1.4.5 · 12 Oct 2026 ✓ | v77 · 26 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | CC0-1.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Mail-in-a-Box scores 72/100 against 50/100 for HQBase, so it is the safer default.

HQBase ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 4 for Mail-in-a-Box.

If you want the quickest setup, Mail-in-a-Box is easier to run; HQBase needs more configuration.

Mail-in-a-Box is growing faster right now (+29 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [HQBase](https://selfhost.directory/project/hqbase) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/hqbase.md)
- [Mail-in-a-Box](https://selfhost.directory/project/mail-in-a-box) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mail-in-a-box.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/hqbase-vs-mail-in-a-box