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Maddy vs RSS.com

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Maddy and RSS.com — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Maddy vs RSS.com: at a glance

FeatureMaddyRSS.com
SectorCommsComms
Velocity score0.02.5
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesmail-server, self-hosted, golang, securitypodcast hosting, listener engagement, public api, podcasting 2.0
Last editorial update1h ago9h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Maddy?

maddy's latest release is a security fix, five months after its last feature work.

maddy is an all-in-one Go mail server for SMTP and IMAP. Its most recent release, 0.9.6 in October, requires explicit trust for PROXY protocol headers and closes an auth misconfiguration that could skip password checks. Before that, the 0.9 line ran from March to May: no-downtime config reload in 0.9.0, an LDAP injection fix, and removal of long-deprecated commands.

Read the full Maddy trajectory →

What is RSS.com?

RSS.com's changelog is back after ten months, with listener voicemail for podcasts.

RSS.com is a podcast hosting platform. After a public API in December 2025 its changelog went silent until v26.10.1 in October, which lets listeners leave voicemails for a show through a link in the episode notes. Earlier releases added Podcasting 2.0 location tags and a year of analytics lookback.

Read the full RSS.com trajectory →

Maddy vs RSS.com: editorial side-by-side

M
Maddy
COMMS
0.0

maddy's latest release is a security fix, five months after its last feature work.

◆ Current state

maddy is an all-in-one Go mail server for SMTP and IMAP. Its most recent release, 0.9.6 in October, requires explicit trust for PROXY protocol headers and closes an auth misconfiguration that could skip password checks. Before that, the 0.9 line ran from March to May: no-downtime config reload in 0.9.0, an LDAP injection fix, and removal of long-deprecated commands.

◆ Where it's heading

The project is moving from convenient defaults to safer ones, accepting breaking changes on the way. Older conveniences such as SASL LOGIN, STARTTLS plaintext fallback and the maddyctl symlink have been removed, and 0.9.1 flagged several DNS providers for removal in 0.10.0. Two of the last four releases were security fixes.

◆ Prediction

0.10.0 is scoped by the deprecations announced in 0.9.1: expect the flagged DNS providers to go and gandi to require Bearer tokens. The five-month gap gives no date for it.

R
RSS.com
COMMS
2.5

RSS.com's changelog is back after ten months, with listener voicemail for podcasts.

◆ Current state

RSS.com is a podcast hosting platform. After a public API in December 2025 its changelog went silent until v26.10.1 in October, which lets listeners leave voicemails for a show through a link in the episode notes. Earlier releases added Podcasting 2.0 location tags and a year of analytics lookback.

◆ Where it's heading

The October release points toward listener interaction rather than the developer and metadata work of late 2025. One entry after a long gap is too little to call a new direction.

◆ Prediction

Unclear: a single release after ten quiet months doesn't establish a cadence, so the next move can't be read from the entries.

Alternatives to Maddy and RSS.com

Other Comms products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Maddy or RSS.com.

See all Maddy alternatives → · See all RSS.com alternatives →

Recent activity from Maddy and RSS.com

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 25d agoRSS.comRSS.com 26.10.1: listener voicemail returns
  2. 1mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.6 fixes PROXY trust and auth bypass misconfig
  3. 5mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.5 fixes nested pipeline logging and systemd reload reporting
  4. 6mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.4 removes the maddyctl symlink and implicit run command
  5. 6mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.3 patches an LDAP injection flaw in auth.ldap
  6. 7mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.2 fixes an rspamd panic on unspecified tls_client
  7. 7mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.1 flags libdns providers for removal in 0.10.0
  8. 10mo agoRSS.comv25.12.1 ⚡
  9. 11mo agoRSS.comv25.11.1
  10. 1y agoRSS.comv25.10.1

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Maddy and RSS.com?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. RSS.com is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Maddy better than RSS.com?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. RSS.com is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Comms products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Maddy?

Top Maddy alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Maddy alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/maddy for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to RSS.com?

Top RSS.com alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "RSS.com alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rss-com for the full list with editorial commentary on each.