SHSelfHostIndex

Cyrus IMAP vs Horde Groupware

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?
CY Cyrus IMAP Scalable IMAP and POP server for large deployments VS HO Horde Groupware PHP groupware suite with webmail and calendaring
FeatureCyrus IMAPHorde Groupware
CategoryMail ServersGroupware
LicenseBSD-3-ClauseGPL-2.0
LanguageCPHP
Setup difficultyHardHard
Min. RAM1,024 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcebare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 641★ 243
First released19942003
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 Horde Groupware if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Written in PHP
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Horde Groupware details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cyrus IMAP or Horde Groupware 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 Horde Groupware free and open-source?

Yes. Cyrus IMAP is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Horde Groupware under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cyrus IMAP and Horde Groupware with Docker?

Cyrus IMAP: check the project docs for container support. Horde Groupware: check the project docs for container support.

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