imapfilter vs Mailpit
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
Mailpit
Email and SMTP testing tool with web UI
| Feature | imapfilter | Mailpit |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | C | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 936 | ★ 10,067 |
| First released | 2001 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Gmail filters | Mailtrap, MailHog |
Why pick each one
Choose imapfilter if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is imapfilter or Mailpit better?
Mailpit is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider imapfilter if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are imapfilter and Mailpit free and open-source?
Yes. imapfilter is licensed under MIT and Mailpit under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run imapfilter and Mailpit with Docker?
imapfilter: check the project docs for container support. Mailpit: yes.