Stalwart Mail Server vs Mailpit

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?
FeatureStalwart Mail ServerMailpit
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0MIT
LanguageRustGo
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metaldocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 14,059★ 10,067
First released20202022
ReplacesMicrosoft Exchange, Google WorkspaceMailtrap, MailHog

Why pick each one

Choose Stalwart Mail Server if…

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

Choose Mailpit if…

  • Very fast and small
  • Great developer UX
Mailpit details

Frequently asked questions

Is Stalwart Mail Server or Mailpit better?

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

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

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

Can I run Stalwart Mail Server and Mailpit with Docker?

Stalwart Mail Server: yes. Mailpit: yes.

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