# Postal vs Thumbor

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

| | Postal | Thumbor |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 72/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 16 in Mail Server | #2 of 13 in Image Processing |
| GitHub stars | 16 900 ✓ | 10 528 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +73 ✓ | +6 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 ✓ | 1 |
| Latest release | 3.3.7 · 3 Jun 2026 ✓ | 7.8.0 · 30 May 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Main language | Ruby | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Postal and Thumbor score the same (72/100), so the choice comes down to the details below.

Postal ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for Thumbor.

If you want the quickest setup, Thumbor is easier to run; Postal needs more configuration.

Postal is growing faster right now (+73 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Postal](https://selfhost.directory/project/postal) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/postal.md)
- [Thumbor](https://selfhost.directory/project/thumbor) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/thumbor.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/postal-vs-thumbor