Mailtrain vs Postal
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?
Mailtrain
Self-hosted newsletter application
VS
Postal
Complete mail delivery platform for outgoing email
| Feature | Mailtrain | Postal |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,743 | ★ 16,724 |
| First released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Mailchimp | SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark |
Why pick each one
Choose Mailtrain if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.7k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Mailtrain or Postal better?
Neither is universally better. Postal has the larger community, while Mailtrain is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mailtrain and Postal free and open-source?
Yes. Mailtrain is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Postal under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mailtrain and Postal with Docker?
Mailtrain: yes. Postal: yes.