# Mail-in-a-Box vs umbrel

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

| | Mail-in-a-Box | umbrel |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 ✓ | 52/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 16 in Mail Server | #9 of 22 in Home Server |
| GitHub stars | 15 446 ✓ | 434 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +27 ✓ | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 4 | 4 |
| Latest release | v77 · 26 Sept 2026 | v2.0.0 · 2 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | CC0-1.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Mail-in-a-Box scores 72/100 against 52/100 for umbrel, so it is the safer default.

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

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