# Mail-in-a-Box vs Piler

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

| | Mail-in-a-Box | Piler |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 ✓ | 49/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 16 in Mail Server | #61 of 106 in Email |
| GitHub stars | 15 445 ✓ | 356 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +27 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 4 ✓ | 1 |
| Latest release | v77 · 26 Sept 2026 ✓ | piler-1.4.9 · 17 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | CC0-1.0 | Other |
| Main language | Python | PHP |

## Which one should you pick?

Mail-in-a-Box scores 72/100 against 49/100 for Piler, so it is the safer default.

Mail-in-a-Box ships more often: 4 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for Piler.

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

Mail-in-a-Box is growing faster right now (+27 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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