fdm vs mpop
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?
| Feature | fdm | mpop |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | ISC | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 16 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 283 | ★ 19 |
| First released | 2006 | 2005 |
| 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 mpop if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 16 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is fdm or mpop better?
Neither is universally better. fdm has the larger community, while mpop is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are fdm and mpop free and open-source?
Yes. fdm is licensed under ISC and mpop under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run fdm and mpop with Docker?
fdm: check the project docs for container support. mpop: check the project docs for container support.