SHSelfHostIndex

Stalwart Mail Server vs imapsync

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 IM imapsync Synchronization and migration tool between IMAP accounts
FeatureStalwart Mail Serverimapsync
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageRustShell
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metalbinary, source
GitHub stars★ 14,059★ 4,118
First released20202003
ReplacesMicrosoft Exchange, Google WorkspaceIMAP migration services

Why pick each one

Choose Stalwart Mail Server if…

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

Choose imapsync if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Active community (4.1k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Shell
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
imapsync details

Frequently asked questions

Is Stalwart Mail Server or imapsync 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 imapsync free and open-source?

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

Can I run Stalwart Mail Server and imapsync with Docker?

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

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