SHSelfHostIndex

EmailRelay vs mailcow

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?
EM EmailRelay A small and easy to configure SMTP and POP3 server for Windows and VS MA mailcow Dockerized full-stack mail server suite
FeatureEmailRelaymailcow
CategoryMail ServersMail Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageC++JavaScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB6,144 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker
GitHub stars—★ 13,245
First released20202016
Replaces—Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace

Why pick each one

Choose EmailRelay if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Written in C++
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
EmailRelay details

Choose mailcow if…

  • All components preconfigured
  • Active community
mailcow details

Frequently asked questions

Is EmailRelay or mailcow better?

Neither is universally better. mailcow has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are EmailRelay and mailcow free and open-source?

Yes. EmailRelay is licensed under GPL-3.0 and mailcow under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run EmailRelay and mailcow with Docker?

EmailRelay: check the project docs for container support. mailcow: yes.

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