listmonk vs MailWhale
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
MailWhale
Self-hosted transactional email relay with API
| Feature | listmonk | MailWhale |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 22,670 | ★ 372 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Mailchimp, Sendinblue | SendGrid, Postmark |
Why pick each one
Choose MailWhale if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is listmonk or MailWhale 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 MailWhale free and open-source?
Yes. listmonk is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and MailWhale under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run listmonk and MailWhale with Docker?
listmonk: yes. MailWhale: yes.