# LXD vs Stalwart Mail Server

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

| | LXD | Stalwart Mail Server |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 70/100 | 78/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 15 in Virtualization | #2 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 4 844 | 15 462 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +13 | +678 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 19 | 30 ✓ |
| Latest release | lxd-6.10.1 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ | v1.0.0 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0-only AND LicenseRef-SEL |
| Main language | Go | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

Stalwart Mail Server scores 78/100 against 70/100 for LXD, so it is the safer default.

Stalwart Mail Server ships more often: 30 stable releases in the past year, against 19 for LXD.

If you want the quickest setup, LXD is easier to run; Stalwart Mail Server needs more configuration.

Stalwart Mail Server is growing faster right now (+678 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [LXD](https://selfhost.directory/project/lxd) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/lxd.md)
- [Stalwart Mail Server](https://selfhost.directory/project/stalwart-mail-server) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/stalwart-mail-server.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/lxd-vs-stalwart-mail-server