Dittofeed vs Stalwart Mail Server

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?
FeatureDittofeedStalwart Mail Server
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptRust
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker, binary, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 2,888★ 14,059
First released20262020
ReplacesMicrosoft Exchange, Google Workspace

Why pick each one

Choose Dittofeed if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2.9k GitHub stars)
  • Written in TypeScript
Dittofeed details

Choose Stalwart Mail Server if…

  • Single modern binary
  • Strong security defaults
Stalwart Mail Server details

Frequently asked questions

Is Dittofeed or Stalwart Mail Server better?

Neither is universally better. Stalwart Mail Server has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Dittofeed and Stalwart Mail Server free and open-source?

Yes. Dittofeed is licensed under MIT and Stalwart Mail Server under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Dittofeed and Stalwart Mail Server with Docker?

Dittofeed: yes. Stalwart Mail Server: yes.

Related comparisons