SHSelfHostIndex

Stalwart Mail Server vs piler

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 PI piler Email archiving system with full-text search
FeatureStalwart Mail Serverpiler
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageRustC
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metalbare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 14,059★ 200
First released20202012
ReplacesMicrosoft Exchange, Google WorkspaceMimecast, Barracuda Archiver

Why pick each one

Choose Stalwart Mail Server if…

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

Choose piler if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Written in C
piler details

Frequently asked questions

Is Stalwart Mail Server or piler better?

Stalwart Mail Server is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider piler if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

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

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

Can I run Stalwart Mail Server and piler with Docker?

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

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