# Mailcow vs mitmproxy

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

| | Mailcow | mitmproxy |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 86/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 106 in Email | #1 of 48 in Network Monitoring |
| GitHub stars | 13 715 | 46 471 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +205 | +1 327 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 ✓ | 5 |
| Latest release | 2026-10 · 21 Oct 2026 | v12.3.1 · 25 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | JavaScript | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

mitmproxy scores 86/100 against 77/100 for Mailcow, so it is the safer default.

Mailcow ships more often: 16 stable releases in the past year, against 5 for mitmproxy.

If you want the quickest setup, mitmproxy is easier to run; Mailcow needs more configuration.

mitmproxy is growing faster right now (+1 327 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Mailcow](https://selfhost.directory/project/mailcow) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mailcow.md)
- [mitmproxy](https://selfhost.directory/project/mitmproxy) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mitmproxy.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/mailcow-vs-mitmproxy