Himalaya vs SimpleLogin
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?
Himalaya
Modern command-line email client written in Rust
VS
SimpleLogin
Open source email alias solution to protect your email address
| Feature | Himalaya | SimpleLogin |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Rust | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,962 | ★ 6,896 |
| First released | 2021 | 2026 |
| Replaces | Mutt, Outlook | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Himalaya if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 7k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose SimpleLogin if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.9k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Himalaya or SimpleLogin better?
Neither is universally better. Himalaya has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Himalaya and SimpleLogin free and open-source?
Yes. Himalaya is licensed under MIT and SimpleLogin under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Himalaya and SimpleLogin with Docker?
Himalaya: check the project docs for container support. SimpleLogin: yes.