Sympa vs HyperKitty
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?
Sympa
Scalable mailing list management software
VS
HyperKitty
Web archive interface for Mailman 3 mailing lists
| Feature | Sympa | HyperKitty |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Perl | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 310 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 1997 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Google Groups | Google Groups |
Why pick each one
Choose HyperKitty if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Sympa or HyperKitty better?
Neither is universally better. Sympa has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Sympa and HyperKitty free and open-source?
Yes. Sympa is licensed under GPL-2.0 and HyperKitty under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Sympa and HyperKitty with Docker?
Sympa: yes. HyperKitty: yes.