mailcow vs OpenDKIM
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
OpenDKIM
DKIM signing and verification filter for mail servers
| Feature | mailcow | OpenDKIM |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | JavaScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 6,144 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,245 | ★ 117 |
| First released | 2016 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace | Proprietary email security gateways |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenDKIM if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is mailcow or OpenDKIM 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 OpenDKIM free and open-source?
Yes. mailcow is licensed under GPL-3.0 and OpenDKIM under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mailcow and OpenDKIM with Docker?
mailcow: yes. OpenDKIM: check the project docs for container support.