Mailpile 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?
| Feature | Mailpile | Roundcube |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,825 | ★ 7,118 |
| First released | 2013 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Gmail | Gmail, Outlook Web |
Why pick each one
Choose Mailpile if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Mature project with 8.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Mailpile or Roundcube better?
Neither is universally better. Mailpile has the larger community, while Roundcube is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mailpile and Roundcube free and open-source?
Yes. Mailpile is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Roundcube under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mailpile and Roundcube with Docker?
Mailpile: check the project docs for container support. Roundcube: yes.