# Mail-in-a-Box vs Shields

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

| | Mail-in-a-Box | Shields |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 16 in Mail Server | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 15 446 | 27 331 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +27 | +125 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 4 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v77 · 26 Sept 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | CC0-1.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

Shields scores 80/100 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 Shields.

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

Shields is growing faster right now (+125 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)
- [Shields](https://selfhost.directory/project/shields) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/shields.md)

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