Mox vs mailcow
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Mox | mailcow |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 6,144 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,868 | ★ 13,498 |
| First released | 2023 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace |
What are Mox and mailcow?
Mox
Mox is a modern mail server written in Go that provides SMTP, IMAP, and automatic TLS in a single binary. It is designed for easy, secure self-hosting with sensible defaults.
- Single binary mail server
- Automatic TLS and DNS guidance
- Built-in spam filtering
- Quickstart wizard for setup
mailcow
mailcow is a complete, Docker-based mail server solution that bundles Postfix, Dovecot, Rspamd, SOGo, and a modern web UI. It makes running a full-featured mail server with antispam and webmail straightforward.
- Complete Docker mail stack
- Rspamd antispam built in
- SOGo webmail and ActiveSync
- Modern management UI with API
Mox vs mailcow: key differences
Mox is written in Go, while mailcow is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Mox versus GPL-3.0 for mailcow. Mox is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 6,144 MB for mailcow. Mailcow is the more established project (first released 2016), while Mox arrived in 2023. Mailcow has the considerably larger community, at 13,498 GitHub stars versus 5,868.
Why pick each one
Choose Mox if…
- Very easy to deploy
- Strong modern defaults
Watch out for
- Young project
- No webmail included
Choose mailcow if…
- All components preconfigured
- Active community
Watch out for
- Substantial RAM requirements
- Many containers to manage
Frequently asked questions
Is Mox or mailcow better?
Neither is universally better. mailcow has the larger community, while Mox is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mox and mailcow free and open-source?
Yes. Mox is licensed under MIT and mailcow under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mox and mailcow with Docker?
Mox: yes. mailcow: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Mox or mailcow?
Mox has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 6,144 MB for mailcow. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.