Element
Element 1.12.34 RC pops calls into picture-in-picture and lets modules shut off public rooms.
Comparison · Comms
Stalwart vs Stoat
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Stalwart and Stoat — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:self-hosted
Stalwart vs Stoat: at a glance
What is Stalwart?
Stalwart's weekly releases have turned from new standards to correctness fixes.
Stalwart's releases since v0.16.20 are dominated by long Fixed lists across IMAP, JMAP, MTA, DMARC and iTIP. Additions have been small: a PowerDNS provider in 0.16.24, sd_notify and JMAP mailbox behavior in 0.16.26. The most consequential repair is a RocksDB bug in 0.16.26 that rewrote every stored blob on each compaction of the blobs column family, about once per 128MB of new mail.
What is Stoat?
Stoat moves to release candidates and Gerrit, and gives server admins more control.
Stoat's 0.16.0 release candidates add server controls: invites with expiry and use limits, permission to block external emojis, and bot roles that grant permissions when a bot joins. The team is also piloting Gerrit as its main source control and will now ship release candidates and backports.
Stalwart vs Stoat: editorial side-by-side
Stalwart
5.0COMMS
Stalwart's weekly releases have turned from new standards to correctness fixes.
◆ Current state
Stalwart's releases since v0.16.20 are dominated by long Fixed lists across IMAP, JMAP, MTA, DMARC and iTIP. Additions have been small: a PowerDNS provider in 0.16.24, sd_notify and JMAP mailbox behavior in 0.16.26. The most consequential repair is a RocksDB bug in 0.16.26 that rewrote every stored blob on each compaction of the blobs column family, about once per 128MB of new mail.
◆ Where it's heading
After the SCIM v2 release in August, the project has shifted from extending coverage to making existing coverage hold up under real use. The bug reports now describe specific interoperability cases, such as Apple Calendar duplicates and DMARC report formatting, which suggests production traffic is driving the queue. The weekly cadence itself has not changed.
◆ Prediction
Expect more weekly fix releases on the same pattern. The entries show no sign of the next major capability, so its timing is unclear.
Stoat
5.0COMMS
Stoat moves to release candidates and Gerrit, and gives server admins more control.
◆ Current state
Stoat's 0.16.0 release candidates add server controls: invites with expiry and use limits, permission to block external emojis, and bot roles that grant permissions when a bot joins. The team is also piloting Gerrit as its main source control and will now ship release candidates and backports.
◆ Where it's heading
The feature list is about moderation and bot management for server owners, and rc.1 adds OpenTelemetry tracing for the file service. The process change toward RCs and backports suggests the team wants steadier releases for self-hosters.
◆ Prediction
A final 0.16.0 should follow the two RCs; the entries do not say when.
Alternatives to Stalwart and Stoat
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 Stalwart or Stoat.
Synapse
Synapse 1.164 advertises Matrix v1.16 and v1.17 amid a run of dependency security patches
Subsplash
Subsplash gives church staff notes on every person and every Workflow card.
Maddy
maddy's latest release is a security fix, five months after its last feature work.
Grain
Grain adds consent controls and rule-based privacy as its meeting data reaches more AI tools.
Converse.js
Converse.js 14.0.1 fixes OMEMO:2 group decryption broken by Chromium 153.
See all Stalwart alternatives → · See all Stoat alternatives →
Recent activity from Stalwart and Stoat
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 16d agoStalwartv0.16.27: IMAP SEARCH RETURN and iTIP time zone fixes
- 21d agoStoatStoat 0.16 RC1 adds OpenTelemetry tracing
- 21d agoStoatStoat 0.16 RC adds invite limits and bot roles
- 23d agoStalwartv0.16.26 fixes RocksDB rewriting every blob on compaction
- 29d agoStalwartv0.16.25: JMAP MaskedEmail and Autodiscover fixes
- 1mo agoStalwartv0.16.24: PowerDNS provider and phishing list matching fix
- 1mo agoStalwartv0.16.23: nested list delivery and lost DSN fixes
- 1mo agoStalwartv0.16.22: STARTTLS session reset and DMARC result fixes
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Stalwart and Stoat?
Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Comms. Stalwart and Stoat are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Stalwart better than Stoat?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Stalwart and Stoat are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Comms products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Stalwart?
Top Stalwart alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Stalwart alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/stalwart for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Stoat?
Top Stoat alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Stoat alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/stoat for the full list with editorial commentary on each.