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.
Not the right match-up?
aerc
Efficient terminal-based email client
VS
Nextcloud Mail
IMAP webmail client integrated into Nextcloud
| Feature | aerc | Nextcloud Mail |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 1,014 |
| First released | 2019 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Gmail, Outlook | Gmail |
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.