Etherpad vs Mailing List Manager

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?
FeatureEtherpadMailing List Manager
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB50 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 18,481
First released20112024
ReplacesGoogle Docs

Why pick each one

Choose Etherpad if…

  • Very mature and stable
  • Highly extensible
Etherpad details

Choose Mailing List Manager if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Mailing List Manager details

Frequently asked questions

Is Etherpad or Mailing List Manager better?

Neither is universally better. Etherpad has the larger community, while Mailing List Manager is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Etherpad and Mailing List Manager free and open-source?

Yes. Etherpad is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mailing List Manager under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Etherpad and Mailing List Manager with Docker?

Etherpad: yes. Mailing List Manager: check the project docs for container support.

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