aerc vs Nextcloud Mail
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Nextcloud Mail
IMAP webmail client integrated into Nextcloud
| Feature | aerc | Nextcloud Mail |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,300 | ★ 1,029 |
| First released | 2019 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Gmail, Outlook | Gmail |
What are aerc and Nextcloud Mail?
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
Nextcloud Mail
Nextcloud Mail is the official mail app for Nextcloud that connects to existing IMAP and SMTP accounts inside the Nextcloud interface. It integrates with contacts, calendar, and files.
- IMAP and SMTP support
- Integrated with Nextcloud
- Contacts and calendar links
- Threaded conversations
aerc vs Nextcloud Mail: key differences
Aerc is written in Go, while Nextcloud Mail is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for aerc versus AGPL-3.0 for Nextcloud Mail. Aerc is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Nextcloud Mail. Nextcloud Mail is the more established project (first released 2014), while aerc arrived in 2019. Aerc has the considerably larger community, at 3,300 GitHub stars versus 1,029.
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 Nextcloud Mail if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is aerc or Nextcloud Mail better?
Neither is universally better. aerc has the larger community, while Nextcloud Mail is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are aerc and Nextcloud Mail free and open-source?
Yes. aerc is licensed under MIT and Nextcloud Mail under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run aerc and Nextcloud Mail with Docker?
aerc: check the project docs for container support. Nextcloud Mail: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, aerc or Nextcloud Mail?
aerc has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Nextcloud Mail. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.