Afterlogic WebMail Lite 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?
Afterlogic WebMail Lite
Free webmail front-end for IMAP and SMTP servers
VS
mailcow
Dockerized full-stack mail server suite
| Feature | Afterlogic WebMail Lite | mailcow |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Shell | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 6,144 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 360 | ★ 13,245 |
| First released | 2010 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Gmail, Outlook Web | Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace |
Why pick each one
Choose Afterlogic WebMail Lite if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Shell
Frequently asked questions
Is Afterlogic WebMail Lite or mailcow better?
Neither is universally better. mailcow has the larger community, while Afterlogic WebMail Lite is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Afterlogic WebMail Lite and mailcow free and open-source?
Yes. Afterlogic WebMail Lite is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and mailcow under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Afterlogic WebMail Lite and mailcow with Docker?
Afterlogic WebMail Lite: yes. mailcow: yes.