SHSelfHostIndex

Cyrus IMAP vs mailcow

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?
CY Cyrus IMAP Scalable IMAP and POP server for large deployments VS MA mailcow Dockerized full-stack mail server suite
FeatureCyrus IMAPmailcow
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseBSD-3-ClauseGPL-3.0
LanguageCJavaScript
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB6,144 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker
GitHub stars★ 641★ 13,245
First released19942016
ReplacesMicrosoft ExchangeMicrosoft Exchange, Google Workspace

Why pick each one

Choose Cyrus IMAP if…

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

Choose mailcow if…

  • All components preconfigured
  • Active community
mailcow details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cyrus IMAP or mailcow better?

mailcow is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Cyrus IMAP if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Cyrus IMAP and mailcow free and open-source?

Yes. Cyrus IMAP is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and mailcow under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cyrus IMAP and mailcow with Docker?

Cyrus IMAP: check the project docs for container support. mailcow: yes.

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