# Mailcow vs Radicale

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

| | Mailcow | Radicale |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 ✓ | 69/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 106 in Email | #1 of 30 in Calendar & Contacts |
| GitHub stars | 13 713 ✓ | 5 155 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +215 ✓ | +116 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 | 19 ✓ |
| Latest release | 2026-10 · 21 Oct 2026 | v3.9.0 · 25 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | JavaScript | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Mailcow scores 77/100 against 69/100 for Radicale, so it is the safer default.

Radicale ships more often: 19 stable releases in the past year, against 16 for Mailcow.

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

## Details

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

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