Postal vs Apache SpamAssassin
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?
Postal
Complete mail delivery platform for outgoing email
VS
Apache SpamAssassin
Rule-based and Bayesian anti-spam mail filter
| Feature | Postal | Apache SpamAssassin |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 16,724 | ★ 341 |
| First released | 2017 | 2001 |
| Replaces | SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark | Proprietary spam filtering appliances |
Why pick each one
Choose Apache SpamAssassin if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Written in Perl
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Postal or Apache SpamAssassin better?
Neither is universally better. Postal has the larger community, while Apache SpamAssassin is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Postal and Apache SpamAssassin free and open-source?
Yes. Postal is licensed under MIT and Apache SpamAssassin under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Postal and Apache SpamAssassin with Docker?
Postal: yes. Apache SpamAssassin: check the project docs for container support.