aerc vs WildDuck
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | aerc | WildDuck |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | EUPL-1.2 |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,300 | ★ 2,108 |
| First released | 2019 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Gmail, Outlook | Microsoft Exchange, Gmail |
What are aerc and WildDuck?
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
WildDuck
WildDuck is a modern, scalable mail server providing IMAP, POP3, and a full REST API for managing mailboxes. It stores messages in MongoDB and is designed for clustered, highly available deployments.
- IMAP and POP3
- Full REST API
- MongoDB storage
- Designed for scale
aerc vs WildDuck: key differences
Aerc is written in Go, while WildDuck is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for aerc versus EUPL-1.2 for WildDuck. Aerc is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for WildDuck. WildDuck is the more established project (first released 2017), while aerc arrived in 2019. WildDuck 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 WildDuck if…
- API-driven management
- Horizontally scalable
Watch out for
- Requires MongoDB
- Complex to operate
Frequently asked questions
Is aerc or WildDuck better?
aerc is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider WildDuck if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are aerc and WildDuck free and open-source?
Yes. aerc is licensed under MIT and WildDuck under EUPL-1.2. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run aerc and WildDuck with Docker?
aerc: check the project docs for container support. WildDuck: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, aerc or WildDuck?
aerc has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for WildDuck. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.