EGroupware vs mailcow

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureEGroupwaremailcow
CategoryGroupwareMail Servers
LicenseGPL-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguagePHPJavaScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB6,144 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker
GitHub stars★ 295★ 13,245
First released20032016
ReplacesMicrosoft 365, Google WorkspaceMicrosoft Exchange, Google Workspace

Why pick each one

Choose EGroupware if…

  • Broad feature set
  • Long-established project
EGroupware details

Choose mailcow if…

  • All components preconfigured
  • Active community
mailcow details

Frequently asked questions

Is EGroupware or mailcow better?

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

Are EGroupware and mailcow free and open-source?

Yes. EGroupware is licensed under GPL-2.0 and mailcow under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run EGroupware and mailcow with Docker?

EGroupware: yes. mailcow: yes.

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