# portabase vs Stalwart Mail Server

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

| | portabase | Stalwart Mail Server |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 60/100 | 78/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 15 in Backup Management | #2 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 1 860 | 15 444 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +95 | +660 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 64 ✓ | 30 |
| Latest release | 1.35.0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ | v1.0.0 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0-only AND LicenseRef-SEL |
| Main language | Typescript | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

Stalwart Mail Server scores 78/100 against 60/100 for portabase, so it is the safer default.

portabase ships more often: 64 stable releases in the past year, against 30 for Stalwart Mail Server.

Stalwart Mail Server is growing faster right now (+660 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [portabase](https://selfhost.directory/project/portabase) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/portabase.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/portabase-vs-stalwart-mail-server