SHSelfHostIndex

Stalwart Mail Server vs getmail6

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?
ST Stalwart Mail Server Modern all-in-one mail server in a single binary VS GE getmail6 Flexible mail retrieval tool for POP3 and IMAP
FeatureStalwart Mail Servergetmail6
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguageRustPython
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB32 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metalbinary, source
GitHub stars★ 14,059★ 164
First released20202002
ReplacesMicrosoft Exchange, Google Workspacefetchmail

Why pick each one

Choose Stalwart Mail Server if…

  • Single modern binary
  • Strong security defaults
Stalwart Mail Server details

Choose getmail6 if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in Python
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
getmail6 details

Frequently asked questions

Is Stalwart Mail Server or getmail6 better?

Neither is universally better. Stalwart Mail Server has the larger community, while getmail6 is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Stalwart Mail Server and getmail6 free and open-source?

Yes. Stalwart Mail Server is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and getmail6 under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Stalwart Mail Server and getmail6 with Docker?

Stalwart Mail Server: yes. getmail6: check the project docs for container support.

Related comparisons