DragonFly Mail Agent vs OpenSMTPD
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?
DragonFly Mail Agent
Tiny mail transfer agent for outbound delivery
VS
OpenSMTPD
Secure and simple SMTP server from OpenBSD
| Feature | DragonFly Mail Agent | OpenSMTPD |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | ISC |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 263 | ★ 579 |
| First released | 2008 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Sendmail, Postfix | Sendmail, Postfix |
Why pick each one
Choose DragonFly Mail Agent if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is DragonFly Mail Agent or OpenSMTPD better?
Neither is universally better. OpenSMTPD has the larger community, while DragonFly Mail Agent is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are DragonFly Mail Agent and OpenSMTPD free and open-source?
Yes. DragonFly Mail Agent is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and OpenSMTPD under ISC. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run DragonFly Mail Agent and OpenSMTPD with Docker?
DragonFly Mail Agent: check the project docs for container support. OpenSMTPD: check the project docs for container support.