chasquid vs Mox
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | chasquid | Mox |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 78 · Good | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 977 | ★ 5,868 |
| First released | 2016 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Workspace | Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 |
What are chasquid and Mox?
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
Mox
Mox is a modern mail server written in Go that provides SMTP, IMAP, and automatic TLS in a single binary. It is designed for easy, secure self-hosting with sensible defaults.
- Single binary mail server
- Automatic TLS and DNS guidance
- Built-in spam filtering
- Quickstart wizard for setup
chasquid vs Mox: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for chasquid versus MIT for Mox. Chasquid is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Mox. Chasquid is the more established project (first released 2016), while Mox arrived in 2023. Mox has the considerably larger community, at 5,868 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 Mox if…
- Very easy to deploy
- Strong modern defaults
Watch out for
- Young project
- No webmail included
Frequently asked questions
Is chasquid or Mox better?
Mox is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider chasquid if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are chasquid and Mox free and open-source?
Yes. chasquid is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mox under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run chasquid and Mox with Docker?
chasquid: yes. Mox: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, chasquid or Mox?
chasquid has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Mox. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.