MailCatcher 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?
MailCatcher
Catch-all SMTP server for inspecting test email
VS
Mailpit
Email and SMTP testing tool with web UI
| Feature | MailCatcher | Mailpit |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,774 | ★ 10,067 |
| First released | 2010 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Mailtrap | Mailtrap, MailHog |
Why pick each one
Choose MailCatcher if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.8k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is MailCatcher or Mailpit better?
Neither is universally better. Mailpit has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are MailCatcher and Mailpit free and open-source?
Yes. MailCatcher is licensed under MIT and Mailpit under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MailCatcher and Mailpit with Docker?
MailCatcher: yes. Mailpit: yes.