Mailcowvsprefect
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Mailcow | prefect | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 106 in Email | #5 of 32 in Workflow Automation |
| GitHub stars | 13 713 | 24 092 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +215 | +180 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 | 17 |
| Latest release | 2026-10 · 21 Oct 2026 | 2.20.27 · 23 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | JavaScript | Python |
Which one should you pick?
prefect scores 80/100 against 77/100 for Mailcow, so it is the safer default.
prefect ships more often: 17 stable releases in the past year, against 16 for Mailcow.
If you want the quickest setup, prefect is easier to run; Mailcow needs more configuration.
Mailcow details →prefect details →
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