Haraka vs Roundcube
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?
Haraka
High-performance, pluggable SMTP server in Node.js
VS
Roundcube
Browser-based IMAP webmail client
| Feature | Haraka | Roundcube |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,612 | ★ 7,118 |
| First released | 2011 | 2008 |
| Replaces | SendGrid, Mailgun | Gmail, Outlook Web |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Haraka or Roundcube better?
Roundcube is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Haraka if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Haraka and Roundcube free and open-source?
Yes. Haraka is licensed under MIT and Roundcube under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Haraka and Roundcube with Docker?
Haraka: yes. Roundcube: yes.