SHSelfHostIndex

Cyrus IMAP vs Mailpit

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 Mailpit Email and SMTP testing tool with web UI
FeatureCyrus IMAPMailpit
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseBSD-3-ClauseMIT
LanguageCGo
Setup difficultyHardEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB64 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 641★ 10,067
First released19942022
ReplacesMicrosoft ExchangeMailtrap, MailHog

Why pick each one

Choose Cyrus IMAP if…

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

Choose Mailpit if…

  • Very fast and small
  • Great developer UX
Mailpit details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cyrus IMAP or Mailpit better?

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

Are Cyrus IMAP and Mailpit free and open-source?

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

Can I run Cyrus IMAP and Mailpit with Docker?

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

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