# HQBase vs Mailpit

> Two self-hosted [Email projects](https://selfhost.directory/email), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | HQBase | Mailpit |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 50/100 | 77/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #56 of 106 in Email | #2 of 106 in Email |
| GitHub stars | 350 | 10 780 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +354 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 9 | 23 ✓ |
| Latest release | v1.4.5 · 12 Oct 2026 | v1.32.0 · 22 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Typescript | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

Mailpit scores 77/100 against 50/100 for HQBase, so it is the safer default.

Mailpit ships more often: 23 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for HQBase.

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

Mailpit is growing faster right now (+354 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/hqbase-vs-mailpit