# Mail-in-a-Box vs setup-ipsec-vpn

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

| | Mail-in-a-Box | setup-ipsec-vpn |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 78/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 16 in Mail Server | #3 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 15 446 | 28 890 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +27 | +324 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 4 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v77 · 26 Sept 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | CC0-1.0 | Other |
| Main language | Python | Shell |

## Which one should you pick?

setup-ipsec-vpn scores 78/100 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 0 for setup-ipsec-vpn.

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

setup-ipsec-vpn is growing faster right now (+324 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)
- [setup-ipsec-vpn](https://selfhost.directory/project/setup-ipsec-vpn) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/setup-ipsec-vpn.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/mail-in-a-box-vs-setup-ipsec-vpn