# Mailcow vs Shields

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

| | Mailcow | Shields |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 106 in Email | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 13 715 | 27 332 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +205 ✓ | +126 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | 2026-10 · 21 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | JavaScript | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

Shields scores 80/100 against 77/100 for Mailcow, so it is the safer default.

Mailcow ships more often: 16 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.

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

## Details

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

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