Stalwart Mail Server vs Mailspring
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?
Compare Stalwart Mail Server with
choose an app… listmonk Docker Mailserver Postal MailHog Mail-in-a-Box mailcow Mautic Mailpit Mailpile Mailu Roundcube Himalaya SimpleLogin MailCatcher Maddy Mail Server Mox Mailtrain Haraka AnonAddy RainLoop imapsync smtp4dev NeoMutt Modoboa aerc Dittofeed Rspamd Keila emailwiz SendPortal SOGo WildDuck Mailvelope iRedMail Cypht SnappyMail Forward Email Cuttlefish DebOps swaks parsedmarc Cozy PostfixAdmin Dovecot Nextcloud Groupware Apache James Nextcloud Mail chasquid Sup Betterbird imapfilter OpenTrashmail notmuch Sieve Editor meli phpList Exim alot alps Lieer Cyrus IMAP OfflineIMAP Larch OpenSMTPD Postfix ViMbAdmin Chatmail Mailman isync MailWhale Afterlogic WebMail Lite afew Apache SpamAssassin Sympa Simple NixOS Mailserver EGroupware msmtp fdm Group-Office DragonFly Mail Agent Horde Groupware Claws Mail Fetchmail DAViCal HyperKitty Kolab Groupware piler Postorius Nullmailer getmail6 OpenDMARC OpenDKIM bogofilter Citadel Schleuder Dovecot Pigeonhole Kopano Groupware Core Tine DKIMpy Milter mpop Courier Mail Server Afterlogic DAV b1gMail Dovel EmailRelay Inboxen Sendmail Sendy SquirrelMail
Compare Mailspring with
choose an app… listmonk Docker Mailserver Postal MailHog Mail-in-a-Box mailcow Mautic Mailpit Mailpile Mailu Roundcube Himalaya SimpleLogin MailCatcher Maddy Mail Server Mox Mailtrain Haraka AnonAddy RainLoop imapsync smtp4dev NeoMutt Modoboa aerc Dittofeed Rspamd Keila emailwiz SendPortal WildDuck Mailvelope iRedMail Cypht SnappyMail Forward Email Cuttlefish DebOps swaks parsedmarc PostfixAdmin Dovecot Apache James Nextcloud Mail chasquid Sup Betterbird imapfilter OpenTrashmail notmuch Sieve Editor meli phpList Exim alot alps Lieer Cyrus IMAP OfflineIMAP Larch OpenSMTPD Postfix ViMbAdmin Chatmail Mailman isync MailWhale Afterlogic WebMail Lite afew Apache SpamAssassin Sympa Simple NixOS Mailserver msmtp fdm DragonFly Mail Agent Claws Mail Fetchmail HyperKitty piler Postorius Nullmailer getmail6 OpenDMARC OpenDKIM bogofilter Schleuder Dovecot Pigeonhole DKIMpy Milter mpop Courier Mail Server Afterlogic DAV b1gMail Dovel EmailRelay Inboxen Sendmail Sendy SquirrelMail
Feature Stalwart Mail Server Mailspring Category Mail Servers Mail Servers License AGPL-3.0 GPL-3.0 Language Rust JavaScript Setup difficulty Medium Easy Min. RAM 512 MB 512 MB Deployment docker, binary, bare-metal binary, source GitHub stars ★ 14,059 ★ 17,730 First released 2020 2017 Replaces Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace Outlook, Apple Mail
Why pick each one
Choose Mailspring if… Released under the GPL-3.0 license Easy to set up — beginner-friendly Mature project with 17.7k GitHub stars Written in JavaScript Mailspring details
Frequently asked questions Is Stalwart Mail Server or Mailspring better? Mailspring is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Stalwart Mail Server if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Stalwart Mail Server and Mailspring free and open-source? Yes. Stalwart Mail Server is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Mailspring under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Stalwart Mail Server and Mailspring with Docker? Stalwart Mail Server: yes. Mailspring: check the project docs for container support.