mailcow vs DragonFly Mail Agent
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
DragonFly Mail Agent
Tiny mail transfer agent for outbound delivery
| Feature | mailcow | DragonFly Mail Agent |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | JavaScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 6,144 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,245 | ★ 263 |
| First released | 2016 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace | Sendmail, Postfix |
Why pick each one
Choose DragonFly Mail Agent if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is mailcow or DragonFly Mail Agent better?
Neither is universally better. mailcow has the larger community, while DragonFly Mail Agent is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are mailcow and DragonFly Mail Agent free and open-source?
Yes. mailcow is licensed under GPL-3.0 and DragonFly Mail Agent under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mailcow and DragonFly Mail Agent with Docker?
mailcow: yes. DragonFly Mail Agent: check the project docs for container support.