Cuttlefish 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?
Cuttlefish
Transactional email server with click and open tracking
VS
Stalwart Mail Server
Modern all-in-one mail server in a single binary
| Feature | Cuttlefish | Stalwart Mail Server |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,624 | ★ 14,059 |
| First released | 2014 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Mailgun, SendGrid, Postmark | Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace |
Why pick each one
Choose Cuttlefish if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in Ruby
Choose Stalwart Mail Server if…
- Single modern binary
- Strong security defaults
Frequently asked questions
Is Cuttlefish 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 Cuttlefish and Stalwart Mail Server free and open-source?
Yes. Cuttlefish is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Stalwart Mail Server under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cuttlefish and Stalwart Mail Server with Docker?
Cuttlefish: yes. Stalwart Mail Server: yes.