fdm vs getmail6
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?
fdm
Fetch and filter mail with a single configuration
VS
getmail6
Flexible mail retrieval tool for POP3 and IMAP
| Feature | fdm | getmail6 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | ISC | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 283 | ★ 164 |
| First released | 2006 | 2002 |
| Replaces | fetchmail, procmail | fetchmail |
Why pick each one
Choose fdm if…
- Released under the ISC license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Choose getmail6 if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is fdm or getmail6 better?
Neither is universally better. fdm has the larger community, while getmail6 is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are fdm and getmail6 free and open-source?
Yes. fdm is licensed under ISC and getmail6 under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run fdm and getmail6 with Docker?
fdm: check the project docs for container support. getmail6: check the project docs for container support.