# Mailcow vs VisionState

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

| | Mailcow | VisionState |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 ✓ | 49/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 106 in Email | #73 of 104 in Home Automation |
| GitHub stars | 13 715 ✓ | 178 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +205 ✓ | +47 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 | 20 ✓ |
| Latest release | 2026-10 · 21 Oct 2026 | v0.11.0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | JavaScript | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Mailcow scores 77/100 against 49/100 for VisionState, so it is the safer default.

VisionState ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 16 for Mailcow.

If you want the quickest setup, VisionState 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)
- [VisionState](https://selfhost.directory/project/visionstate) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/visionstate.md)

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