Dovecot vs Kopano Groupware Core
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?
Dovecot
Secure, high-performance IMAP and POP3 server
VS
Kopano Groupware Core
Open-source collaboration platform with Outlook support
| Feature | Dovecot | Kopano Groupware Core |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Groupware |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,233 | ★ 60 |
| First released | 2002 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Exchange | Microsoft Exchange |
Why pick each one
Choose Kopano Groupware Core if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Dovecot or Kopano Groupware Core better?
Neither is universally better. Dovecot has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dovecot and Kopano Groupware Core free and open-source?
Yes. Dovecot is licensed under MIT and Kopano Groupware Core under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dovecot and Kopano Groupware Core with Docker?
Dovecot: yes. Kopano Groupware Core: yes.