chasquid vs Modoboa
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | chasquid | Modoboa |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 78 · Good | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | Apache-2.0 | ISC |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 977 | ★ 3,538 |
| First released | 2016 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Google Workspace | Google Workspace, cPanel Email |
What are chasquid and Modoboa?
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
Modoboa
Modoboa is a mail hosting and management platform that provides a clean web interface on top of Postfix and Dovecot. It includes antispam, webmail, calendar, and DNS health checks.
- Modern mail administration UI
- Amavis and Rspamd antispam
- Built-in webmail and calendar
- DNSBL and configuration health checks
chasquid vs Modoboa: key differences
Chasquid is written in Go, while Modoboa is built with Python. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for chasquid versus ISC for Modoboa. Chasquid is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Modoboa. Modoboa is the more established project (first released 2010), while chasquid arrived in 2016. Modoboa has the considerably larger community, at 3,538 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 Modoboa if…
- Friendly management interface
- Good monitoring features
Watch out for
- Installer can be finicky
- Multiple components to maintain
Frequently asked questions
Is chasquid or Modoboa better?
Neither is universally better. Modoboa has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are chasquid and Modoboa free and open-source?
Yes. chasquid is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Modoboa under ISC. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run chasquid and Modoboa with Docker?
chasquid: yes. Modoboa: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, chasquid or Modoboa?
chasquid has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Modoboa. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.