MastodonvsPostal
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Mastodon | Postal | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 72/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #3 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 50 457 | 16 899 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +138 | +75 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 38 | 3 |
| Latest release | v4.4.26 · 1 Oct 2026 | 3.3.7 · 3 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Ruby | Ruby |
Which one should you pick?
Mastodon scores 82/100 against 72/100 for Postal, so it is the safer default.
Mastodon ships more often: 38 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Postal.
Mastodon details →Postal details →