Mailtrain vs SendPortal
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Mailtrain | SendPortal |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 40 · Fair | 17 · At risk |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,753 | ★ 2,174 |
| First released | 2016 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Mailchimp | Mailchimp |
What are Mailtrain and SendPortal?
Mailtrain
Mailtrain is a self-hosted newsletter application built on Node.js that can handle large subscriber lists. It supports custom fields, automations, and campaign reporting.
- Manages large subscriber lists
- Custom fields and segmentation
- Automation workflows
- Campaign statistics
SendPortal
SendPortal is a self-hosted email marketing application for Laravel that manages subscribers, segments, and campaigns, delivering newsletters through providers such as Amazon SES, Mailgun, or your own SMTP.
- Self-hosted newsletter platform
- Subscriber segments and campaigns
- Works with SES, Mailgun, and SMTP
Mailtrain vs SendPortal: key differences
Mailtrain is written in JavaScript, while SendPortal is built with PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Mailtrain versus MIT for SendPortal. SendPortal is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Mailtrain. Mailtrain is the more established project (first released 2016), while SendPortal arrived in 2020. Mailtrain has the considerably larger community, at 5,753 GitHub stars versus 2,174. Mailtrain lists first-class Docker deployment; SendPortal does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Mailtrain if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.8k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Watch out for
- Slower recent development
- Setup complexity
Choose SendPortal if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Mailtrain or SendPortal better?
Neither is universally better. Mailtrain has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Mailtrain and SendPortal free and open-source?
Yes. Mailtrain is licensed under GPL-3.0 and SendPortal under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mailtrain and SendPortal with Docker?
Mailtrain: yes. SendPortal: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Mailtrain or SendPortal?
SendPortal has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Mailtrain. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.