imapfilter vs Sieve Editor
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?
imapfilter
Scriptable IMAP mail filtering utility
VS
Sieve Editor
Graphical editor for Sieve mail filtering scripts
| Feature | imapfilter | Sieve Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 936 | ★ 889 |
| First released | 2001 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Gmail filters | Gmail filters |
Why pick each one
Choose imapfilter if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Choose Sieve Editor if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is imapfilter or Sieve Editor better?
Neither is universally better. imapfilter has the larger community, while Sieve Editor is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are imapfilter and Sieve Editor free and open-source?
Yes. imapfilter is licensed under MIT and Sieve Editor under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run imapfilter and Sieve Editor with Docker?
imapfilter: check the project docs for container support. Sieve Editor: check the project docs for container support.