SHSelfHostIndex

Stalwart Mail Server vs Mailvelope

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 MA Mailvelope Browser extension for OpenPGP encryption in webmail
FeatureStalwart Mail ServerMailvelope
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageRustJavaScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metalsource
GitHub stars★ 14,059★ 1,838
First released20202012
ReplacesMicrosoft Exchange, Google WorkspaceProtonMail

Why pick each one

Choose Stalwart Mail Server if…

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

Choose Mailvelope if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
  • Written in JavaScript
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Mailvelope details

Frequently asked questions

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

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

Can I run Stalwart Mail Server and Mailvelope with Docker?

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

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