mailcow vs WildDuck
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?
Compare mailcow with
choose an app… listmonk Docker Mailserver Mailspring Postal MailHog Mail-in-a-Box Stalwart Mail Server Mautic Mailpit Mailpile Mailu Roundcube Himalaya SimpleLogin MailCatcher Maddy Mail Server Mox Mailtrain Haraka AnonAddy RainLoop imapsync smtp4dev NeoMutt Modoboa aerc Dittofeed Rspamd Keila emailwiz SendPortal SOGo Mailvelope iRedMail Cypht SnappyMail Forward Email Cuttlefish DebOps swaks parsedmarc Cozy PostfixAdmin Dovecot Nextcloud Groupware Apache James Nextcloud Mail chasquid Sup Betterbird imapfilter OpenTrashmail notmuch Sieve Editor meli phpList Exim alot alps Lieer Cyrus IMAP OfflineIMAP Larch OpenSMTPD Postfix ViMbAdmin Chatmail Mailman isync MailWhale Afterlogic WebMail Lite afew Apache SpamAssassin Sympa Simple NixOS Mailserver EGroupware msmtp fdm Group-Office DragonFly Mail Agent Horde Groupware Claws Mail Fetchmail DAViCal HyperKitty Kolab Groupware piler Postorius Nullmailer getmail6 OpenDMARC OpenDKIM bogofilter Citadel Schleuder Dovecot Pigeonhole Kopano Groupware Core Tine DKIMpy Milter mpop Courier Mail Server Afterlogic DAV b1gMail Dovel EmailRelay Inboxen Sendmail Sendy SquirrelMail
Compare WildDuck with
choose an app… listmonk Docker Mailserver Mailspring Postal MailHog Mail-in-a-Box Stalwart Mail Server Mautic Mailpit Mailpile Roundcube RainLoop aerc SOGo iRedMail Cypht SnappyMail Dovecot Apache James Nextcloud Mail Exim alps Cyrus IMAP Postfix Afterlogic WebMail Lite Horde Groupware DAViCal Kolab Groupware Citadel Kopano Groupware Core Courier Mail Server
Feature mailcow WildDuck Category Mail Servers Mail Servers License GPL-3.0 EUPL-1.2 Language JavaScript JavaScript Setup difficulty Medium Hard Min. RAM 6,144 MB 1,024 MB Deployment docker docker, bare-metal GitHub stars ★ 13,245 ★ 2,107 First released 2016 2017 Replaces Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace Microsoft Exchange, Gmail
Why pick each one
Choose mailcow if… All components preconfigured Active community mailcow details
Frequently asked questions Is mailcow or WildDuck better? mailcow is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider WildDuck if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are mailcow and WildDuck free and open-source? Yes. mailcow is licensed under GPL-3.0 and WildDuck under EUPL-1.2. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mailcow and WildDuck with Docker? mailcow: yes. WildDuck: yes.