Sympa vs Mailman3
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
| Feature | Sympa | Mailman3 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0-or-later |
| Language | Perl | |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 800 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 310 | — |
| First released | 1997 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Groups | Google Groups |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Sympa or Mailman3 better?
Neither is universally better. Sympa has the larger community, while Mailman3 is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Sympa and Mailman3 free and open-source?
Yes. Sympa is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Mailman3 under AGPL-3.0-or-later. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Sympa and Mailman3 with Docker?
Sympa: yes. Mailman3: check the project docs for container support.