Claws Mail vs Betterbird
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?
Claws Mail
Lightweight and fast GTK email client
VS
Betterbird
Community-enhanced fork of the Thunderbird email client
| Feature | Claws Mail | Betterbird |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 948 |
| First released | 2001 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Outlook | Microsoft Outlook |
Why pick each one
Choose Claws Mail if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Betterbird if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Shell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Claws Mail or Betterbird better?
Neither is universally better. Betterbird has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Claws Mail and Betterbird free and open-source?
Yes. Claws Mail is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Betterbird under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Claws Mail and Betterbird with Docker?
Claws Mail: check the project docs for container support. Betterbird: check the project docs for container support.