Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Mail-in-a-box VS NetMail

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

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.

NetMail logo NetMail

NetMail is an email management system that offers the management of email data, archiving of data, encryption system, storage of data, attachment management, email monitoring and much more.
  • Mail-in-a-box Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-21
  • NetMail Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-02

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.

NetMail features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

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.

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

NetMail videos

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

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Mail-in-a-box and NetMail)
Email
97 97%
3% 3
Self-hosted Email
95 95%
5% 5
Email Clients
96 96%
4% 4
SMTP Servers
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

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

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.

NetMail Reviews

We have no reviews of NetMail yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Mail-in-a-box seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 125 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.

Mail-in-a-box mentions (125)

  • Self-hosting email in 2025 is easy actually (apart from M365)
    I've hosted my own email for over 30 years. About five years ago I switched from integrating it all myself to using "mail in a box": https://mailinabox.email/ It's modern, secure, and easy to manage. It's free, but you are encouraged to donate. - Source: Hacker News / 3 days ago
  • Why Use Mailing Lists?
    Iโ€™ve heard good things about . - Source: Hacker News / 8 days ago
  • How to Setup Secure Email Server
    You can visit Mail in a box official website for more detailed instructions on how to create email accounts and manage your server. - Source: dev.to / 14 days ago
  • Mox โ€“ 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 / 7 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 / 8 months ago
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NetMail mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of NetMail yet. Tracking of NetMail recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

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

mailcow - An open source mailserver suite.

FastMail - Email, calendars, and contacts to highest standards of security, privacy and reliability.

ProtonMail - Secure email with absolutely no compromises. Get your free encrypted email account today.

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

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.

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