openpencilvsStalwart Mail Server
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| openpencil | Stalwart Mail Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 73/100 | 79/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 7 in Design | #2 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 9 407 | 15 479 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +806 | +676 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 31 |
| Latest release | v0.16.0 · 14 Oct 2026 | v1.0.1 · 28 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0-only AND LicenseRef-SEL |
| Main language | Typescript | Rust |
Which one should you pick?
Stalwart Mail Server scores 79/100 against 73/100 for openpencil, so it is the safer default.
Stalwart Mail Server ships more often: 31 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for openpencil.
If you want the quickest setup, openpencil is easier to run; Stalwart Mail Server needs more configuration.
openpencil details →Stalwart Mail Server details →
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