# Mail-in-a-Box vs Deta Surf

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

| | Mail-in-a-Box | Deta Surf |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 ✓ | 59/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 16 in Mail Server | #21 of 81 in Notes & Editors |
| GitHub stars | 15 446 ✓ | 3 613 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +27 ✓ | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 4 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v77 · 26 Sept 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | CC0-1.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Mail-in-a-Box scores 72/100 against 59/100 for Deta Surf, so it is the safer default.

Mail-in-a-Box ships more often: 4 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Deta Surf.

If you want the quickest setup, Deta Surf is easier to run; Mail-in-a-Box 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)
- [Deta Surf](https://selfhost.directory/project/surf) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/surf.md)

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