aerc vs alps
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | aerc | alps |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,300 | ★ 700 |
| First released | 2019 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Gmail, Outlook | Gmail |
What are aerc and alps?
aerc
aerc is an email client for the terminal designed for power users, with support for multiple accounts, embedded terminal, and a tab-based workflow. It handles IMAP, Maildir, JMAP, and notmuch backends.
- Terminal email client
- Multiple account support
- IMAP, JMAP, and notmuch
- Embedded terminal viewer
alps
alps is a minimal webmail client that connects to IMAP and SMTP servers, designed to be lightweight and extensible. It is developed by the team behind the SourceHut mail infrastructure.
- Minimal webmail interface
- IMAP and SMTP support
- Plugin system
- No database required
aerc vs alps: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Aerc has the considerably larger community, at 3,300 GitHub stars versus 700.
Why pick each one
Choose aerc if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (3.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose alps if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is aerc or alps better?
Neither is universally better. aerc has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are aerc and alps free and open-source?
Yes. aerc is licensed under MIT and alps under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run aerc and alps with Docker?
aerc: check the project docs for container support. alps: check the project docs for container support.