Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

LibreOffice VS Mail-in-a-box

Compare LibreOffice VS Mail-in-a-box and see what are their differences

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LibreOffice logo LibreOffice

Free office suite, open source, and compatible with .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx files. Updated regularly – download for free. Originally based on OpenOffice.org.

Mail-in-a-box logo 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.
  • LibreOffice Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-15
  • Mail-in-a-box Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-21

LibreOffice features and specs

  • Free and Open Source
    LibreOffice is completely free to download and use, and as an open-source project, its source code is available for anyone to inspect, modify, and distribute.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    LibreOffice can be used on various operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring broad availability and support.
  • Strong Community Support
    The LibreOffice community offers extensive support through forums, documentation, and regular updates, ensuring continued improvements and user assistance.
  • Compatibility with Multiple File Formats
    LibreOffice supports a wide range of file formats, including Microsoft Office documents, making it easy to work with files created in other office suites.
  • Feature-Rich Suite
    LibreOffice includes powerful tools like Writer (word processor), Calc (spreadsheet), Impress (presentations), Draw (vector graphics), Base (database), and Math (formula editor).

Possible disadvantages of LibreOffice

  • Compatibility Issues
    Although LibreOffice supports many file formats, there might be occasional compatibility issues with complex Microsoft Office documents, leading to formatting problems.
  • User Interface
    Some users find LibreOffice's user interface to be less polished and more dated compared to more modern office suites like Microsoft Office or Google Workspace.
  • Learning Curve
    Switching from another office suite to LibreOffice can involve a learning curve, as users may need to familiarize themselves with different tools and features.
  • Limited Cloud Integration
    LibreOffice offers limited cloud storage and collaboration features compared to other cloud-based office suites like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
  • Performance
    For very large or complex documents, LibreOffice may sometimes lag or perform slower compared to other proprietary office software.

Mail-in-a-box features and specs

  • Ease of Setup
    Mail-in-a-Box provides a simplified setup process with comprehensive documentation, making it accessible even for users with limited technical knowledge.
  • Full Control
    Running your own mail server gives you full control over your email, including data privacy, security, and customization options.
  • Cost-effective
    By using Mail-in-a-Box, you can avoid subscription fees associated with commercial email services, reducing long-term costs.
  • Open Source
    Mail-in-a-Box is open-source software, which means you can audit the code, contribute to the project, and ensure there are no backdoors.
  • Additional Features
    Mail-in-a-Box offers more than just email; it can also set up DNS, backups, spam filtering, and other useful features.

Possible disadvantages of Mail-in-a-box

  • Maintenance
    Running your own mail server requires ongoing maintenance, including software updates, hardware monitoring, and troubleshooting.
  • Security Risks
    Improperly configured mail servers can be susceptible to security vulnerabilities, such as hacking, spam, and data breaches.
  • Technical Knowledge
    Although the setup process is simplified, users still need a basic understanding of Linux systems, DNS, and email protocols.
  • Reliability
    Your email availability is dependent on the reliability of your server hardware and network connection, which may not match the uptime of commercial mail providers.
  • Scalability
    Mail-in-a-Box may not be suitable for very large organizations or high-volume email needs, as it is designed for small to medium-sized deployments.

Analysis of Mail-in-a-box

Overall verdict

  • Mail-in-a-Box is a solid choice for individuals and small organizations looking to run their own email server with minimal hassle. However, it may not have the same level of advanced features or customization options found in more complex solutions, which can be a limitation for demanding or large scale use cases.

Why this product is good

  • Mail-in-a-Box (Mail-in-a-Box) is often lauded for its simplicity and comprehensive documentation, which make setting up a personal mail server accessible even for those with minimal technical expertise. It provides a full suite of email features such as IMAP, SMTP, spam filtering, and webmail access without requiring in-depth server management knowledge.

Recommended for

    Mail-in-a-Box is recommended for privacy-conscious individuals, small businesses, and hobbyists looking to maintain control over their own email server without the need for extensive technical resources or a steep learning curve.

LibreOffice videos

Microsoft Office vs LibreOffice | How to Make the Change

More videos:

  • Review - LibreOffice Overview

Mail-in-a-box videos

Setup and Install your Email server easily with this Free, Open Source Option - Mail-In-A-Box.

More videos:

  • Review - Mail-in-a-Box Setup Guide (v0.16 - January 2016)
  • Review - Setting up your own mail server with Mail-In-A-Box

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to LibreOffice and Mail-in-a-box)
Office Suites
100 100%
0% 0
Email
0 0%
100% 100
Project Management
100 100%
0% 0
Self-hosted Email
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using LibreOffice and Mail-in-a-box. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare LibreOffice and Mail-in-a-box

LibreOffice Reviews

Top Alternatives to Microsoft Office Suite
LibreOffice is a powerful open-source office suite that includes Writer, Calc, Impress, and more. With a user-friendly interface and compatibility with Microsoft Office formats, LibreOffice is an excellent alternative for businesses looking to save costs without compromising on functionality.
Source: saaszeal.com
10 Best Visio Alternatives for Cost Effective Diagramming [2022]
LibreOffice is a free and open-source office productivity software suite, a project of The Document Foundation. It was forked in 2010 from OpenOffice.org, an open-sourced version of the earlier StarOffice.

Mail-in-a-box Reviews

15 Best Email Hosting for Small Business (2019)
Mail-in-a-Box is an open source software bundle that make it easy to turn a cloud server into your own email server for multiple domains.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Mail-in-a-box should be more popular than LibreOffice. It has been mentiond 122 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.

LibreOffice mentions (15)

  • If I can add a PDF as an object to a Word file without Acrobat?
    Install LibreOffice (https://libreoffice.org) – free. Then open it in Draw and save as PNG or SVG. The latter will give you a vectorial file. Import those files in Word. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Is libre office free?
    Libre office is open source and free. Ignore the MS store , download it from libreoffice.org. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • What comes to your mind when you hear the words ‘tech abuse’?
    Microsoft Office -- Libreoffice. A customizable free and open source office suite. Source: over 2 years ago
  • An explanation of what we're talking about over here
    First, what is a distro? Distro, is short for distribution. A Linux distribution is basically an operating system, with added software (for example LibreOffice. In Linux there are a lot of distributions. This is because each distribution has a different idea on how things should be done. For example: one distribution uses the GNOME desktop, while the other uses KDE/Plasma, for example. There are a lot of ways in... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Windows Defender problem
    You either buy a license or resort to solutions like this: Https://libreoffice.org. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

Mail-in-a-box mentions (122)

  • Mox – modern, secure, all-in-one email server
    - You have to search for old emails through RoundCube's byzantine UI (and eventually giving up) [1] https://mailinabox.email/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Purelymail: Cheap Email for Everyone
    I looked into Purelymail when searching around for good email solution. Google Workspace was getting a bit costly and there were too many things I did not need. Zoho Mail provides another option - $1.95 per month I think for my use where I am (AU) and has all the features I need for my small indie business. One other option I tried was to actually run mail myself with Linode VPS - https://mailinabox.email/ I know... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Purelymail: Cheap Email for Everyone
    I installed Mailinabox [1] four years ago. There was one annoying upgrade, whose process needs to improved, but outside of that haven't touched anything. Only a couple of random domains where email delivery has failed. Otherwise, it just works for all the big providers. [1] https://mailinabox.email/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Purelymail: Cheap Email for Everyone
    Very honest Landing Page. If anyone is interested in self hosting their own emails, I have found mailinabox to be a useful start: https://mailinabox.email/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Tmpmail: Temporary email right from your terminal written in POSIX sh
    Sorry for the late reply. I've heard good things about Mail-in-a-Box[0], but haven't used it myself (although I have/do use(d) a bunch of the servers/tools amalgamated into the product). The setup guide[1][2] also gives a good overview of implementation requirements. Have fun! [0] https://mailinabox.email/ [1] https://mailinabox.email/guide.html [2] Annoyingly, the setup guide wants to you 'curl setup.sh | bash'.... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing LibreOffice and Mail-in-a-box, you can also consider the following products

Microsoft 365 - Boost your productivity with reliable access anywhere with services like email, calendar, file sharing, meetings, instant messaging, and Office Online

mailcow - An open source mailserver suite.

WPS Office - Would you need Office Word, Excel or PowerPoint for Home, business or School? WPS.com would give you right version for you.

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

ONLYOFFICE - ONLYOFFICE is a complete office and productivity suite.

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