MailcowvsRestic
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Mailcow | Restic | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 106 in Email | #1 of 46 in Backup |
| GitHub stars | 13 715 | 36 865 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +205 | +627 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 | 2 |
| Latest release | 2026-10 · 21 Oct 2026 | v0.19.1 · 5 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Main language | JavaScript | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Restic scores 82/100 against 77/100 for Mailcow, so it is the safer default.
Mailcow ships more often: 16 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for Restic.
If you want the quickest setup, Restic is easier to run; Mailcow needs more configuration.
Restic is growing faster right now (+627 stars in 30 days).
Mailcow details →Restic details →
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