Collabora Online vs Mailu
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Collabora Online
Self-hosted online office suite based on LibreOffice
VS
Mailu
Simple yet full-featured Docker mail server
| Feature | Collabora Online | Mailu |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document Management | Mail Servers |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Shell | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,316 | ★ 7,443 |
| First released | 2015 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Docs, Microsoft 365 | Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Collabora Online or Mailu better?
Neither is universally better. Mailu has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Collabora Online and Mailu free and open-source?
Yes. Collabora Online is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Mailu under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Collabora Online and Mailu with Docker?
Collabora Online: yes. Mailu: yes.