SHSelfHostIndex

Stalwart Mail Server vs DragonFly Mail Agent

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 DR DragonFly Mail Agent Tiny mail transfer agent for outbound delivery
FeatureStalwart Mail ServerDragonFly Mail Agent
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0BSD-3-Clause
LanguageRustC
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB32 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metalbinary, source
GitHub stars★ 14,059★ 263
First released20202008
ReplacesMicrosoft Exchange, Google WorkspaceSendmail, Postfix

Why pick each one

Choose Stalwart Mail Server if…

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

Choose DragonFly Mail Agent if…

  • Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in C
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
DragonFly Mail Agent details

Frequently asked questions

Is Stalwart Mail Server or DragonFly Mail Agent better?

Neither is universally better. Stalwart Mail Server has the larger community, while DragonFly Mail Agent is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Stalwart Mail Server and DragonFly Mail Agent free and open-source?

Yes. Stalwart Mail Server is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and DragonFly Mail Agent under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Stalwart Mail Server and DragonFly Mail Agent with Docker?

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

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