aerc vs Afterlogic WebMail Lite
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | aerc | Afterlogic WebMail Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,300 | ★ 362 |
| First released | 2019 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Gmail, Outlook | Gmail, Outlook Web |
What are aerc and Afterlogic WebMail Lite?
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
Afterlogic WebMail Lite
Afterlogic WebMail Lite is a free, open-source webmail client that provides a clean front-end for any IMAP and SMTP mail server. It supports contacts and basic email management.
- Clean responsive webmail UI
- Contacts management
- Works with any IMAP server
- Free open-source edition
aerc vs Afterlogic WebMail Lite: key differences
Aerc is written in Go, while Afterlogic WebMail Lite is built with Shell. Licensing differs — MIT for aerc versus AGPL-3.0 for Afterlogic WebMail Lite. Aerc is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Afterlogic WebMail Lite. Afterlogic WebMail Lite is the more established project (first released 2010), while aerc arrived in 2019. Aerc has the considerably larger community, at 3,300 GitHub stars versus 362. Afterlogic WebMail Lite lists first-class Docker deployment; aerc does not.
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 Afterlogic WebMail Lite if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Shell
Watch out for
- Pro edition gates advanced features
- Webmail only
Frequently asked questions
Is aerc or Afterlogic WebMail Lite better?
Neither is universally better. aerc has the larger community, while Afterlogic WebMail Lite is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are aerc and Afterlogic WebMail Lite free and open-source?
Yes. aerc is licensed under MIT and Afterlogic WebMail Lite under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run aerc and Afterlogic WebMail Lite with Docker?
aerc: check the project docs for container support. Afterlogic WebMail Lite: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, aerc or Afterlogic WebMail Lite?
aerc has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Afterlogic WebMail Lite. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.