MailcowvsSafeLine
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Mailcow | SafeLine | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 81/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 106 in Email | #1 of 3 in Web Application Firewall |
| GitHub stars | 13 715 | 23 087 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +205 | +414 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 | 11 |
| Latest release | 2026-10 · 21 Oct 2026 | v9.4.3 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | JavaScript | Go |
Which one should you pick?
SafeLine scores 81/100 against 77/100 for Mailcow, so it is the safer default.
Mailcow ships more often: 16 stable releases in the past year, against 11 for SafeLine.
If you want the quickest setup, SafeLine is easier to run; Mailcow needs more configuration.
SafeLine is growing faster right now (+414 stars in 30 days).
Mailcow details →SafeLine details →
Swap a project
Keep Mailcow, compare it with
Keep SafeLine, compare it with