Docker Mailserver vs Mailspring
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?
Compare Docker Mailserver with
choose an app… Nextcloud listmonk Postal MailHog Mail-in-a-Box Stalwart Mail Server mailcow Mautic Mailpit Mailpile CryptPad Mailu Roundcube Himalaya SimpleLogin ONLYOFFICE Docs MailCatcher Maddy Mail Server Mox Mailtrain Haraka AnonAddy RainLoop imapsync smtp4dev NeoMutt Modoboa Collabora Online aerc OnlyOffice Community Server Dittofeed Rspamd Keila emailwiz SendPortal SOGo WildDuck Mailvelope iRedMail Cypht SnappyMail Forward Email Cuttlefish DebOps swaks parsedmarc Cozy PostfixAdmin Dovecot Nextcloud Groupware Apache James Nextcloud Mail chasquid Sup Betterbird imapfilter OpenTrashmail notmuch Sieve Editor meli phpList Exim alot alps LibreOffice Online Lieer Cyrus IMAP OfflineIMAP Larch OpenSMTPD Postfix ViMbAdmin Chatmail Mailman isync MailWhale Afterlogic WebMail Lite afew Apache SpamAssassin Sympa Simple NixOS Mailserver Calligra Suite EGroupware msmtp fdm Group-Office DragonFly Mail Agent Claws Mail Fetchmail HyperKitty piler Postorius Nullmailer getmail6 OpenDMARC OpenDKIM bogofilter Citadel Schleuder Dovecot Pigeonhole Tine DKIMpy Milter mpop Courier Mail Server Afterlogic DAV b1gMail Dovel EmailRelay Inboxen Sendmail Sendy SquirrelMail
Compare Mailspring with
choose an app… listmonk Postal MailHog Mail-in-a-Box Stalwart Mail Server mailcow Mautic Mailpit Mailpile Mailu Roundcube Himalaya SimpleLogin MailCatcher Maddy Mail Server Mox Mailtrain Haraka AnonAddy RainLoop imapsync smtp4dev NeoMutt Modoboa aerc Dittofeed Rspamd Keila emailwiz SendPortal WildDuck Mailvelope iRedMail Cypht SnappyMail Forward Email Cuttlefish DebOps swaks parsedmarc PostfixAdmin Dovecot Apache James Nextcloud Mail chasquid Sup Betterbird imapfilter OpenTrashmail notmuch Sieve Editor meli phpList Exim alot alps Lieer Cyrus IMAP OfflineIMAP Larch OpenSMTPD Postfix ViMbAdmin Chatmail Mailman isync MailWhale Afterlogic WebMail Lite afew Apache SpamAssassin Sympa Simple NixOS Mailserver msmtp fdm DragonFly Mail Agent Claws Mail Fetchmail HyperKitty piler Postorius Nullmailer getmail6 OpenDMARC OpenDKIM bogofilter Schleuder Dovecot Pigeonhole DKIMpy Milter mpop Courier Mail Server Afterlogic DAV b1gMail Dovel EmailRelay Inboxen Sendmail Sendy SquirrelMail
Feature Docker Mailserver Mailspring Category Mail Servers Mail Servers License MIT GPL-3.0 Language Shell JavaScript Setup difficulty Medium Easy Min. RAM 2,048 MB 512 MB Deployment docker binary, source GitHub stars ★ 18,682 ★ 17,730 First released 2015 2017 Replaces Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 Outlook, Apple Mail
Why pick each one
Choose Mailspring if… Released under the GPL-3.0 license Easy to set up — beginner-friendly Mature project with 17.7k GitHub stars Written in JavaScript Mailspring details
Frequently asked questions Is Docker Mailserver or Mailspring better? Neither is universally better. Docker Mailserver has the larger community, while Mailspring is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Docker Mailserver and Mailspring free and open-source? Yes. Docker Mailserver is licensed under MIT and Mailspring under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Docker Mailserver and Mailspring with Docker? Docker Mailserver: yes. Mailspring: check the project docs for container support.