PostalvsZulip
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Postal | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 16 in Mail Server | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 16 898 | 26 133 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +74 | +190 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 6 |
| Latest release | 3.3.7 · 3 Jun 2026 | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | Python |
Which one should you pick?
Zulip scores 82/100 against 72/100 for Postal, so it is the safer default.
Zulip ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Postal.
If you want the quickest setup, Zulip is easier to run; Postal needs more configuration.
Zulip is growing faster right now (+190 stars in 30 days).
Postal details →Zulip details →
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