chasquid vs Mailu
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | chasquid | Mailu |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 78 · Good | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 977 | ★ 7,524 |
| First released | 2016 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Workspace | Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 |
What are chasquid and Mailu?
chasquid
chasquid is an SMTP server written in Go with a focus on being easy to configure and maintain for small personal mail servers. It handles message submission and delivery securely.
- Easy-to-configure SMTP server
- Automatic TLS via certificates
- SPF and DKIM support
- Lightweight Go implementation
Mailu
Mailu is a free mail server distributed as a set of Docker images, providing a complete stack with antispam, webmail, and admin interface. It aims to be simpler and lighter than other mail suites.
- Composable Docker images
- Built-in antispam and antivirus
- Roundcube and SnappyMail webmail
- Admin UI and REST API
chasquid vs Mailu: key differences
Chasquid is written in Go, while Mailu is built with Python. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for chasquid versus MIT for Mailu. Chasquid is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Mailu. Mailu has the considerably larger community, at 7,524 GitHub stars versus 977.
Why pick each one
Choose chasquid if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- SMTP only, needs IMAP separately
- Small personal-use focus
Choose Mailu if…
- Lighter than mailcow
- Kubernetes support
Watch out for
- Fewer features than larger suites
- Manual DNS configuration
Frequently asked questions
Is chasquid or Mailu better?
Neither is universally better. Mailu has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are chasquid and Mailu free and open-source?
Yes. chasquid is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mailu under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run chasquid and Mailu with Docker?
chasquid: yes. Mailu: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, chasquid or Mailu?
chasquid has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Mailu. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.