SHSelfHostIndex

Cyrus IMAP vs Kopano Groupware Core

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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CY Cyrus IMAP Scalable IMAP and POP server for large deployments VS KO Kopano Groupware Core Open-source collaboration platform with Outlook support
FeatureCyrus IMAPKopano Groupware Core
CategoryMail ServersGroupware
LicenseBSD-3-ClauseAGPL-3.0
LanguageCC++
Setup difficultyHardHard
Min. RAM1,024 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 641★ 60
First released19942016
ReplacesMicrosoft ExchangeMicrosoft Exchange

Why pick each one

Choose Cyrus IMAP if…

  • Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
  • Written in C
Cyrus IMAP details

Choose Kopano Groupware Core if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in C++
Kopano Groupware Core details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cyrus IMAP or Kopano Groupware Core better?

Neither is universally better. Cyrus IMAP has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Cyrus IMAP and Kopano Groupware Core free and open-source?

Yes. Cyrus IMAP is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Kopano Groupware Core under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cyrus IMAP and Kopano Groupware Core with Docker?

Cyrus IMAP: check the project docs for container support. Kopano Groupware Core: yes.

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