mailcow vs MailWhale
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
MailWhale
Self-hosted transactional email relay with API
| Feature | mailcow | MailWhale |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 6,144 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,245 | ★ 372 |
| First released | 2016 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace | SendGrid, Postmark |
Why pick each one
Choose MailWhale if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is mailcow or MailWhale better?
Neither is universally better. mailcow has the larger community, while MailWhale is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are mailcow and MailWhale free and open-source?
Yes. mailcow is licensed under GPL-3.0 and MailWhale under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mailcow and MailWhale with Docker?
mailcow: yes. MailWhale: yes.