Dovecot vs listmonk
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?
Dovecot
Secure, high-performance IMAP and POP3 server
VS
listmonk
Self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager
| Feature | Dovecot | listmonk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,233 | ★ 22,670 |
| First released | 2002 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Exchange | Mailchimp, Sendinblue |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Dovecot or listmonk better?
listmonk is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Dovecot if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Dovecot and listmonk free and open-source?
Yes. Dovecot is licensed under MIT and listmonk under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dovecot and listmonk with Docker?
Dovecot: yes. listmonk: yes.