listmonk vs Sympa

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?
FeaturelistmonkSympa
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguageGoPerl
Setup difficultyEasyHard
Min. RAM512 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 22,670★ 310
First released20201997
ReplacesMailchimp, SendinblueGoogle Groups

Why pick each one

Choose listmonk if…

  • Fast and scalable
  • Modern admin UI
listmonk details

Choose Sympa if…

  • Handles very large list deployments
  • Mature and feature-rich
Sympa details

Frequently asked questions

Is listmonk or Sympa better?

listmonk is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Sympa if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are listmonk and Sympa free and open-source?

Yes. listmonk is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Sympa under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run listmonk and Sympa with Docker?

listmonk: yes. Sympa: yes.

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