Etherpad vs Mailman3

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureEtherpadMailman3
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0-or-later
LanguageTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB800 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 18,481
First released20112023
ReplacesGoogle DocsGoogle Groups

Why pick each one

Choose Etherpad if…

  • Very mature and stable
  • Highly extensible
Etherpad details

Choose Mailman3 if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0-or-later license
Mailman3 details

Frequently asked questions

Is Etherpad or Mailman3 better?

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

Are Etherpad and Mailman3 free and open-source?

Yes. Etherpad is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mailman3 under AGPL-3.0-or-later. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Etherpad and Mailman3 with Docker?

Etherpad: yes. Mailman3: check the project docs for container support.

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