fdm vs MailHog
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
MailHog
Email testing tool with a fake SMTP server
| Feature | fdm | MailHog |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | ISC | MIT |
| Language | C | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 283 | ★ 16,107 |
| First released | 2006 | 2014 |
| Replaces | fetchmail, procmail | Mailtrap |
Why pick each one
Choose fdm if…
- Released under the ISC license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Choose MailHog if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 16.1k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is fdm or MailHog better?
MailHog is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider fdm if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are fdm and MailHog free and open-source?
Yes. fdm is licensed under ISC and MailHog under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run fdm and MailHog with Docker?
fdm: check the project docs for container support. MailHog: yes.