listmonk vs Mail-in-a-Box

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?
FeaturelistmonkMail-in-a-Box
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0CC0-1.0
LanguageGoPython
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM512 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcebare-metal, one-click
GitHub stars★ 22,670★ 15,385
First released20202014
ReplacesMailchimp, SendinblueGoogle Workspace, Microsoft 365

Why pick each one

Choose listmonk if…

  • Fast and scalable
  • Modern admin UI
listmonk details

Choose Mail-in-a-Box if…

  • Very beginner-friendly
  • Opinionated, complete stack
Mail-in-a-Box details

Frequently asked questions

Is listmonk or Mail-in-a-Box better?

Neither is universally better. listmonk has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are listmonk and Mail-in-a-Box free and open-source?

Yes. listmonk is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Mail-in-a-Box under CC0-1.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run listmonk and Mail-in-a-Box with Docker?

listmonk: yes. Mail-in-a-Box: check the project docs for container support.

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