SHSelfHostIndex

Dovecot vs DAViCal

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
DO Dovecot Secure, high-performance IMAP and POP3 server VS DA DAViCal Server for sharing calendars and address books via DAV
FeatureDovecotDAViCal
CategoryMail ServersGroupware
LicenseMITGPL-2.0
LanguageCPHP
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM128 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 1,233★ 200
First released20022007
ReplacesMicrosoft ExchangeGoogle Calendar, Microsoft Exchange

Why pick each one

Choose Dovecot if…

  • Very efficient and reliable
  • Industry standard
Dovecot details

Choose DAViCal if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in PHP
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
DAViCal details

Frequently asked questions

Is Dovecot or DAViCal better?

Neither is universally better. Dovecot has the larger community, while DAViCal is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Dovecot and DAViCal free and open-source?

Yes. Dovecot is licensed under MIT and DAViCal under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Dovecot and DAViCal with Docker?

Dovecot: yes. DAViCal: yes.

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