mailcow vs smtp4dev
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
smtp4dev
Fake SMTP server for development email testing
| Feature | mailcow | smtp4dev |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 6,144 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,245 | ★ 3,941 |
| First released | 2016 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace | Mailtrap |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is mailcow or smtp4dev better?
Neither is universally better. mailcow has the larger community, while smtp4dev is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are mailcow and smtp4dev free and open-source?
Yes. mailcow is licensed under GPL-3.0 and smtp4dev under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mailcow and smtp4dev with Docker?
mailcow: yes. smtp4dev: yes.