# Mail-in-a-Box vs Sympa

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

| | Mail-in-a-Box | Sympa |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 ✓ | 56/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 16 in Mail Server | #40 of 106 in Email |
| GitHub stars | 15 447 ✓ | 315 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +29 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 4 ✓ | 2 |
| Latest release | v77 · 26 Sept 2026 ✓ | 6.2.80 · 14 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | CC0-1.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | Perl |

## Which one should you pick?

Mail-in-a-Box scores 72/100 against 56/100 for Sympa, so it is the safer default.

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

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

Mail-in-a-Box is growing faster right now (+29 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)
- [Sympa](https://selfhost.directory/project/sympa) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/sympa.md)

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