# Mail-in-a-Box vs RustDesk Server

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

| | Mail-in-a-Box | RustDesk Server |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 75/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 16 in Mail Server | #4 of 22 in Remote Desktop |
| GitHub stars | 15 447 ✓ | 10 628 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +29 | +179 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 4 ✓ | 2 |
| Latest release | v77 · 26 Sept 2026 ✓ | 1.1.16 · 20 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | CC0-1.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Python | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

RustDesk Server scores 75/100 against 72/100 for Mail-in-a-Box, so it is the safer default.

Mail-in-a-Box ships more often: 4 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for RustDesk Server.

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

RustDesk Server is growing faster right now (+179 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)
- [RustDesk Server](https://selfhost.directory/project/rustdesk-server) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/rustdesk-server.md)

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