Dovecot vs Mailpit
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
Mailpit
Email and SMTP testing tool with web UI
| Feature | Dovecot | Mailpit |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | C | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,233 | ★ 10,067 |
| First released | 2002 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Exchange | Mailtrap, MailHog |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Dovecot or Mailpit better?
Mailpit 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 Mailpit free and open-source?
Yes. Dovecot is licensed under MIT and Mailpit under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dovecot and Mailpit with Docker?
Dovecot: yes. Mailpit: yes.