listmonk vs Himalaya
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?
listmonk
Self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager
VS
Himalaya
Modern command-line email client written in Rust
| Feature | listmonk | Himalaya |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 22,670 | ★ 6,962 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Mailchimp, Sendinblue | Mutt, Outlook |
Why pick each one
Choose Himalaya if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 7k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is listmonk or Himalaya better?
listmonk is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Himalaya if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are listmonk and Himalaya free and open-source?
Yes. listmonk is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Himalaya under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run listmonk and Himalaya with Docker?
listmonk: yes. Himalaya: check the project docs for container support.