SHSelfHostIndex

Stalwart Mail Server vs Simple NixOS Mailserver

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 SI Simple NixOS Mailserver Complete mailserver solution leveraging the Nix Ecosystem
FeatureStalwart Mail ServerSimple NixOS Mailserver
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageRustNix
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metalbare-metal
GitHub stars★ 14,059★ 307
First released20202019
ReplacesMicrosoft Exchange, Google Workspace—

Why pick each one

Choose Stalwart Mail Server if…

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

Choose Simple NixOS Mailserver if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Written in Nix
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Simple NixOS Mailserver details

Frequently asked questions

Is Stalwart Mail Server or Simple NixOS Mailserver 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 Simple NixOS Mailserver free and open-source?

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

Can I run Stalwart Mail Server and Simple NixOS Mailserver with Docker?

Stalwart Mail Server: yes. Simple NixOS Mailserver: check the project docs for container support.

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