meli vs Sup
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | meli | Sup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 77 · Good | 74 · Good |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Rust | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 891 | ★ 971 |
| First released | 2017 | 2007 |
| Replaces | Mutt, NeoMutt | Mutt |
What are meli and Sup?
meli
meli is a terminal mail user agent written in Rust, supporting IMAP, Maildir, mbox, and notmuch backends with a configurable, modern interface. It works with any self-hosted mail server.
- Terminal mail client in Rust
- IMAP, Maildir, mbox, notmuch
- Configurable modern interface
Sup
Sup is a console-based email client that provides a fast, tag-based interface inspired by web mail and search engines. It indexes large mailboxes and works well with self-hosted IMAP or Maildir accounts.
- Console threaded email client
- Fast tag-based search
- Handles large mailboxes
meli vs Sup: key differences
Meli is written in Rust, while Sup is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for meli versus GPL-2.0 for Sup. Meli is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Sup. Sup is the more established project (first released 2007), while meli arrived in 2017.
Why pick each one
Choose meli if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose Sup if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in Ruby
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is meli or Sup better?
Neither is universally better. Sup has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are meli and Sup free and open-source?
Yes. meli is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Sup under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run meli and Sup with Docker?
meli: check the project docs for container support. Sup: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, meli or Sup?
meli has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Sup. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.