# Mailcow vs tg-spam

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

| | Mailcow | tg-spam |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 ✓ | 52/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 106 in Email | #3 of 4 in Anti-Spam |
| GitHub stars | 13 715 ✓ | 453 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +205 ✓ | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 ✓ | 15 |
| Latest release | 2026-10 · 21 Oct 2026 | v1.29.1 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | JavaScript | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

Mailcow scores 77/100 against 52/100 for tg-spam, so it is the safer default.

Mailcow ships more often: 16 stable releases in the past year, against 15 for tg-spam.

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

Mailcow is growing faster right now (+205 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/mailcow-vs-tg-spam