SHSelfHostIndex

Modoboa 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?
MO Modoboa Mail hosting and management platform with a modern UI VS SM smtp4dev Fake SMTP server for development email testing
FeatureModoboasmtp4dev
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseISCGPL-3.0
LanguagePythonC#
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM2,048 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 3,530★ 3,941
First released20102015
ReplacesGoogle Workspace, cPanel EmailMailtrap

Why pick each one

Choose Modoboa if…

  • Friendly management interface
  • Good monitoring features
Modoboa details

Choose smtp4dev if…

  • Easy local testing
  • Cross-platform
smtp4dev details

Frequently asked questions

Is Modoboa or smtp4dev better?

smtp4dev is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Modoboa if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Modoboa and smtp4dev free and open-source?

Yes. Modoboa is licensed under ISC and smtp4dev under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Modoboa and smtp4dev with Docker?

Modoboa: yes. smtp4dev: yes.

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