Roundcube vs MailCatcher
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?
Roundcube
Browser-based IMAP webmail client
VS
MailCatcher
Catch-all SMTP server for inspecting test email
| Feature | Roundcube | MailCatcher |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,118 | ★ 6,774 |
| First released | 2008 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Gmail, Outlook Web | Mailtrap |
Why pick each one
Choose MailCatcher if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.8k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Roundcube or MailCatcher better?
Neither is universally better. Roundcube has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Roundcube and MailCatcher free and open-source?
Yes. Roundcube is licensed under GPL-3.0 and MailCatcher under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Roundcube and MailCatcher with Docker?
Roundcube: yes. MailCatcher: yes.