DavMail vs Manage My Damn Life
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted calendar & contacts options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
DavMail
POP/IMAP/SMTP/Caldav/Carddav/LDAP exchange gateway allowing users to
VS
Manage My Damn Life
Manage my Damn Life (MMDL) is a self-hosted front end for managing
| Feature | DavMail | Manage My Damn Life |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Calendar & Contacts | Calendar & Contacts |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Java | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 751 | ★ 620 |
| First released | 2020 | 2026 |
| Replaces | — | — |
Why pick each one
Choose DavMail if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in Java
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Manage My Damn Life if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is DavMail or Manage My Damn Life better?
Neither is universally better. DavMail has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are DavMail and Manage My Damn Life free and open-source?
Yes. DavMail is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Manage My Damn Life under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run DavMail and Manage My Damn Life with Docker?
DavMail: check the project docs for container support. Manage My Damn Life: yes.