Postfix vs MailHog
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?
Postfix
Fast, secure and reliable mail transfer agent
VS
MailHog
Email testing tool with a fake SMTP server
| Feature | Postfix | MailHog |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | IPL-1.0 | MIT |
| Language | C | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 563 | ★ 16,107 |
| First released | 1998 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Exchange | Mailtrap |
Why pick each one
Choose MailHog if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 16.1k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Postfix or MailHog better?
MailHog is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Postfix if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Postfix and MailHog free and open-source?
Yes. Postfix is licensed under IPL-1.0 and MailHog under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Postfix and MailHog with Docker?
Postfix: yes. MailHog: yes.