SHSelfHostIndex

Stalwart Mail Server vs DAViCal

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — 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 DA DAViCal Server for sharing calendars and address books via DAV
FeatureStalwart Mail ServerDAViCal
CategoryMail ServersGroupware
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguageRustPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 14,059★ 200
First released20202007
ReplacesMicrosoft Exchange, Google WorkspaceGoogle Calendar, Microsoft Exchange

Why pick each one

Choose Stalwart Mail Server if…

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

Choose DAViCal if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in PHP
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
DAViCal details

Frequently asked questions

Is Stalwart Mail Server or DAViCal better?

Neither is universally better. Stalwart Mail Server has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

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

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

Can I run Stalwart Mail Server and DAViCal with Docker?

Stalwart Mail Server: yes. DAViCal: yes.

Related comparisons