Mailpile vs smtp4dev
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?
Mailpile
Privacy-focused, searchable email client
VS
smtp4dev
Fake SMTP server for development email testing
| Feature | Mailpile | smtp4dev |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,825 | ★ 3,941 |
| First released | 2013 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Gmail | Mailtrap |
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 smtp4dev better?
Neither is universally better. Mailpile has the larger community, while smtp4dev is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mailpile and smtp4dev free and open-source?
Yes. Mailpile is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and smtp4dev under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mailpile and smtp4dev with Docker?
Mailpile: check the project docs for container support. smtp4dev: yes.