mailcow vs Mailvelope
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?
mailcow
Dockerized full-stack mail server suite
VS
Mailvelope
Browser extension for OpenPGP encryption in webmail
| Feature | mailcow | Mailvelope |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 6,144 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,245 | ★ 1,838 |
| First released | 2016 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace | ProtonMail |
Why pick each one
Choose Mailvelope if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is mailcow or Mailvelope 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 mailcow and Mailvelope free and open-source?
Yes. mailcow is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Mailvelope under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mailcow and Mailvelope with Docker?
mailcow: yes. Mailvelope: check the project docs for container support.