Sympa vs Schleuder
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Sympa | Schleuder |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Perl | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 315 | ★ 100 |
| First released | 1997 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Google Groups | Google Groups |
What are Sympa and Schleuder?
Sympa
Sympa is a comprehensive, scalable mailing list manager widely used by universities and large organizations. It supports advanced moderation, web archives, and LDAP integration.
- Scalable list management
- Fine-grained moderation controls
- Web-based list archives
- LDAP and database integration
Schleuder
Schleuder is a mailing list manager designed for groups that need encrypted communication, decrypting incoming and re-encrypting outgoing mail with OpenPGP. It also serves as a remailer for confidential teams.
- OpenPGP encrypted lists
- Re-encrypts for each member
- Remailer functionality
- Key management
Sympa vs Schleuder: key differences
Sympa is written in Perl, while Schleuder is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Sympa versus GPL-3.0 for Schleuder. Schleuder is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Sympa. Sympa is the more established project (first released 1997), while Schleuder arrived in 2009. Sympa has the considerably larger community, at 315 GitHub stars versus 100. Sympa lists first-class Docker deployment; Schleuder does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Sympa if…
- Handles very large list deployments
- Mature and feature-rich
Watch out for
- Complex Perl-based setup
- Dated interface
Choose Schleuder if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in Ruby
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Sympa or Schleuder 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 Schleuder free and open-source?
Yes. Sympa is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Schleuder under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Sympa and Schleuder with Docker?
Sympa: yes. Schleuder: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Sympa or Schleuder?
Schleuder has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Sympa. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.