Himalaya vs Mailspring
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Himalaya | Mailspring |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,311 | ★ 17,853 |
| First released | 2021 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Mutt, Outlook | Outlook, Apple Mail |
What are Himalaya and Mailspring?
Himalaya
Himalaya is a command-line email client written in Rust that works with IMAP, Maildir, and notmuch backends. It provides a fast scriptable interface for self-hosted mail accounts.
- Command-line email client in Rust
- IMAP, Maildir, and notmuch backends
- Fast and scriptable
Mailspring
Mailspring is a fast, modern desktop email client that works with any IMAP and SMTP account, including self-hosted mail servers. It offers unified inboxes, snooze, and reading tracking with a local sync engine.
- Modern cross-platform email client
- Works with self-hosted IMAP
- Unified inbox and snooze
Himalaya vs Mailspring: key differences
Himalaya is written in Rust, while Mailspring is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Himalaya versus GPL-3.0 for Mailspring. Himalaya is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Mailspring. Mailspring is the more established project (first released 2017), while Himalaya arrived in 2021. Mailspring has the considerably larger community, at 17,853 GitHub stars versus 7,311.
Why pick each one
Choose Himalaya if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 7.3k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose Mailspring if…
- Fast unified inbox
- Works with any IMAP
- Modern clean design
Watch out for
- Some features need Pro
- Electron memory usage
Frequently asked questions
Is Himalaya or Mailspring better?
Mailspring is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Himalaya if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Himalaya and Mailspring free and open-source?
Yes. Himalaya is licensed under MIT and Mailspring under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Himalaya and Mailspring with Docker?
Himalaya: check the project docs for container support. Mailspring: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Himalaya or Mailspring?
Himalaya has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Mailspring. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.