# mbusd vs Stalwart Mail Server

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

| | mbusd | Stalwart Mail Server |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 52/100 | 78/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 4 in Industrial IoT | #2 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 684 | 15 464 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +680 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 31 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.5.3 · 7 Apr 2026 | v1.0.1 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0-only AND LicenseRef-SEL |
| Main language | C | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

Stalwart Mail Server scores 78/100 against 52/100 for mbusd, so it is the safer default.

Stalwart Mail Server ships more often: 31 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for mbusd.

Stalwart Mail Server is growing faster right now (+680 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [mbusd](https://selfhost.directory/project/mbusd) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mbusd.md)
- [Stalwart Mail Server](https://selfhost.directory/project/stalwart-mail-server) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/stalwart-mail-server.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/mbusd-vs-stalwart-mail-server