Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

iRedMail VS WildDuck

Compare iRedMail VS WildDuck and see what are their differences

iRedMail logo iRedMail

A fully fledged, free email server solution, an open source project (GPL v2).

WildDuck logo WildDuck

Self hosted modern mail server
  • iRedMail Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-18
  • WildDuck Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-15

iRedMail features and specs

  • Open Source
    iRedMail is open source, which means it is free to use and its source code is available for anyone to inspect, modify, and enhance.
  • Comprehensive Features
    Includes a wide range of features such as anti-spam, anti-virus, webmail, and support for multiple domains and mailboxes, providing a complete email server solution.
  • Easy Installation
    Offers a straightforward installation process with a well-documented guide, making it accessible even for users with limited server management experience.
  • Excellent Documentation
    Comes with thorough and clear documentation that helps users set up, configure, and troubleshoot the mail server.
  • Strong Community Support
    An active community and forum that can provide support and assist with common issues and best practices.
  • Security Features
    Integrates robust security features, including SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and SSL/TLS, helping to protect against email spoofing and ensuring email privacy.

Possible disadvantages of iRedMail

  • Resource Intensive
    Can be resource-intensive, requiring significant server resources, which might not be ideal for small-scale deployments or low-power servers.
  • Learning Curve
    The complexity of the mail server can present a steep learning curve for new users, especially those unfamiliar with email server configurations.
  • Limited GUI Options
    While it includes a basic web interface, advanced configuration and management typically require command-line proficiency, which can be challenging for non-technical users.
  • Manual Upgrades
    Requires manual interventions for upgrades and updates, which can be time-consuming and risk potential downtimes if not handled correctly.
  • Support Costs
    While the software itself is free, businesses might need to invest in professional support for complex configurations or troubleshooting, which can incur additional costs.
  • Potential Compatibility Issues
    Compatibility with certain third-party software or custom configurations might require additional tweaks, posing potential challenges during integration.

WildDuck features and specs

  • Open Source
    WildDuck is open source, allowing users to inspect and modify the code, and ensuring more transparency and control compared to proprietary solutions.
  • Modern Protocol Support
    Supports modern email protocols such as JMAP and IMAP, providing compatibility with a wide range of email clients and services.
  • Scalability
    Designed to handle large volumes of emails, making it suitable for both small businesses and large organizations with extensive email needs.
  • Multi-domain Support
    Can manage multiple email domains from a single installation, providing flexibility for businesses handling several brands or projects.
  • Security Features
    Includes built-in security features such as end-to-end encryption, ensuring that email communications are secure and compliant with privacy standards.
  • User Management
    Offers detailed user management capabilities, allowing administrators to manage user accounts, quotas, and permissions effectively.

Possible disadvantages of WildDuck

  • Complex Setup
    Installation and configuration can be complex and may require a good understanding of server management and email protocols, posing a challenge for less experienced users.
  • Limited Documentation
    May not have as extensive documentation or community support as more established email servers, which can make troubleshooting and customization difficult.
  • Resource Intensive
    Can be resource-intensive, requiring significant server resources to manage large volumes of emails effectively.
  • Ongoing Maintenance
    Requires regular maintenance and updates to ensure optimal performance and security, which can be demanding for organizations with limited technical staff.
  • Learning Curve
    Users and administrators may face a steep learning curve due to the advanced features and modern protocols used by WildDuck.

Analysis of iRedMail

Overall verdict

  • iRedMail is considered a good and reliable choice for those needing a robust mail server solution. It offers excellent value for small to medium-sized businesses or individuals who need an open-source alternative. Its comprehensive features and active community support make it highly effective for managing email services at a low cost.

Why this product is good

  • iRedMail is a popular open-source mail server solution due to its comprehensive feature set, ease of installation, and strong community support. It integrates seamlessly with major Linux distributions and offers a wide range of features including anti-spam, webmail, and SSL encryption. Its all-in-one nature helps simplify the deployment and maintenance of a full-featured mail server.

Recommended for

    iRedMail is recommended for small to medium-sized businesses, educational institutions, and tech-savvy individuals seeking a cost-effective, fully-featured mail server solution. It's ideal for users who want control over their email infrastructure and prefer open-source software options.

iRedMail videos

Part 1: iRedMail

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Complete Email Server iRedMail Installation Tutorial

WildDuck videos

No WildDuck videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to iRedMail and WildDuck)
Email
77 77%
23% 23
Self-hosted Email
64 64%
36% 36
Email Clients
100 100%
0% 0
Email Service Provider
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using iRedMail and WildDuck. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare iRedMail and WildDuck

iRedMail Reviews

10 Microsoft Exchange Server Alternatives
iRedMail is a free email server solution that is a fully-fledged and open source project. This platform can use the official binary package from the distributions of Linux/BSD, having the support of both i386 and x86/64. It is easy to use with a fast deployment process in almost less than one minute. iRedMail allows the user to work on both virtualized and non-virtualized...
15 Best iRedMail Alternatives 2021
You might want a service that offers better security and protections, more features, or faster processes than what iRedMail provides. Hence, itโ€™s important to consider other options out there that can competently replace iRedMail.
The BEST Email Hosting Providers for Small Business in 2021
There are three products offered by iRedmail. The first one is the iRedMail downloadable installer. To start with iRedMail you need to download the installer package, and after installation, you need to set up DNS records for your iRedMail server. After you have done these two steps, you will need to upgrade with additional installations. The second one is iRedMail Easy....
15 Best Email Hosting for Small Business (2019)
iRedMail is an open source mail server since 2007. It works on most Linux/BSD distributions. It offer paid version ($499/year) with professional support.

WildDuck Reviews

20+ Options for hosting our own mail server
wildduck.email This is another open source email setup. Here are few lines from their github page. WildDuck is a scalable no-SPOF IMAP/POP3 mail server. WildDuck uses a distributed database (sharded + replicated MongoDB) as a backend for storing all data, including emails. WildDuck tries to follow Gmail in product design. If there's a decision to be made then usually the...
Source: dev.to

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, WildDuck should be more popular than iRedMail. It has been mentiond 8 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

iRedMail mentions (3)

  • Ask HN: Custom domain for personal email โ€“ yay or nay?
    Yay! I use the free version of iRedMail [0] under OpenBSD since 2017 and every email I send gets through with any issues (except the first days when I screwed up my SPF/DKIM configuration). [0] https://iredmail.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Selfhosted backup solution for iCloud Backup
    For photo I use Immich. For contact and calendar I use my own mail server (iRedMail). For Cloud I have my own nextcloud server. With nextcloud you can sync contact and calendar of uou don't have a mail server likes iRedMail. Source: over 2 years ago
  • I am highly excited and overjoyed to share this post.
    I used to spend all my time maintaining e-mail quirks for my server. Adjust this, updated that, fix this breakage, yada yada. But then I decided to setup iRedMail which uses postfix, dovecot, certbot, roundcube, spamassasin, mariadb, ldap and all the bells and whistles. All I have to do now is make sure I donโ€™t break it doing any software upgrades on freebsd. 10/10 scores after configuring and blacklist free. Source: over 3 years ago

WildDuck mentions (8)

  • Ask HN: What do you think about EUPL in comparison to other copyleft licences?
    Nodemailer author here. I now publish all my libraries/tools (like Nodemailer) under some permissive license (MIT, MIT-0, ISC). This gives the opportunity to use such a library without issues, and the end user never knows about these tools anyway. For example if I build a OSS software and commercial software that both use such library, then it is easier to manage it under permissive license - I don't want copyleft... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Just got a brand new server, what do I do first?
    - https://wildduck.email/ (E-mail) Even though I have self-hosted things individually (eg: my Ghost blog on a RasPi connected to my home WiFi), something which I've always been concerned about is the separation of all these services, since they must have APIs and access rules. What's an ideal way of setting up a multi-service server like this, and what security policies should I implement.... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Self-hosted email is the hardest it's ever been, but also the easiest
    The largest WildDuck installation manages 100k+ email accounts with around 300TB of stored emails. So it does not always have to be one of the old and tried softwares. https://wildduck.email/. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Email Done My Way, Part 0 โ€“ The Journey
    - Combine with [WildDuck](https://wildduck.email/)? [0]: https://vadosware.io/post/its-never-been-easier-or-harder-to-self-host-email/ [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32720234. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • The Case for Unique Email Addresses
    Or install https://wildduck.email or mail in the box type of server, just host it yourself. Wildduck web interface allows you to make unlimited alias already. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing iRedMail and WildDuck, you can also consider the following products

mailcow - An open source mailserver suite.

Mail-in-a-box - Mail-in-a-Box provides webmail and an IMAP/SMTP server for use with mobile devices and desktop mail software and also includes contacts and calendar synchronization.

Zimbra - Zimbra is trusted by over 500 million users to increase productivity with a complete set of collaboration tools while maintaining total control over security and privacy.

Roundcube - Web-based IMAP email client

Modoboa - Modoboa is a mail hosting and management platform including a modern and simplified Web User Interface.

hMail Server - hMailServer is a free e-mail server for Microsoft Windows.