mailcow vs Betterbird
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
Betterbird
Community-enhanced fork of the Thunderbird email client
| Feature | mailcow | Betterbird |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 6,144 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,245 | ★ 948 |
| First released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace | Microsoft Outlook |
Why pick each one
Choose Betterbird if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Shell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is mailcow or Betterbird better?
Neither is universally better. mailcow has the larger community, while Betterbird is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are mailcow and Betterbird free and open-source?
Yes. mailcow is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Betterbird under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mailcow and Betterbird with Docker?
mailcow: yes. Betterbird: check the project docs for container support.