Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Mailu VS Mail-in-a-box

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

Mailu logo Mailu

Mailu is a simple yet full-featured mail server as a set of Docker images.

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.
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  • Mail-in-a-box Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-21

Mailu features and specs

  • Open Source
    Mailu is an open-source software, which means it is free to use and its source code is available for users to review, modify, and improve.
  • Lightweight
    Designed to be lightweight with minimal resources requirements, making it suitable for small to medium installations on limited hardware.
  • Modularity
    Its modular architecture allows users to enable or disable components based on their specific needs.
  • Docker-based Deployment
    Mailu uses Docker containers for deployment, simplifying the installation and maintenance process, and providing consistent environment management.
  • Self-hosting Support
    Mailu supports self-hosting, giving users complete control over their email server and data, enhancing security and privacy.

Possible disadvantages of Mailu

  • Complex Configuration
    The setup can be complex for users without Docker experience or familiarity with mail server administration.
  • Limited Out-of-the-box Features
    Compared to some commercial solutions, Mailu may lack advanced features or integrations that are available with enterprise-grade email services.
  • Community Support
    Being a community-driven project, support is primarily available through forums and community channels, which might not be as responsive as professional support services.
  • Scalability
    The lightweight design, while an advantage in small setups, might present scalability challenges for very large deployments without careful resource management.
  • Updates and Bug Fixes
    As an open-source project, timely updates and bug fixes may sometimes be dependent on community contributions and interest.

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.

Mailu videos

From zero to full mail server in 20 minutes with Mailu Docker images!

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 Mailu and Mail-in-a-box)
Email
19 19%
81% 81
Self-hosted Email
31 31%
69% 69
Email Service Provider
24 24%
76% 76
Email Clients
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Mailu 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 Mailu and Mail-in-a-box

Mailu Reviews

20+ Options for hosting our own mail server
Mailu To be frank, this one I liked very much. It can be easy as to run 3 to 5 commands if you docker and docker-compose installed already. As you might have noticed, above link to mailu itself is pointing to the docs. Go get it. Github issues is a best place, if you are stuck at something Mailu Issues. From my personal experience and as per docs, atleast 2GB of RAM is...
Source: dev.to

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 seems to be a lot more popular than Mailu. While we know about 125 links to Mail-in-a-box, we've tracked only 6 mentions of Mailu. 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.

Mailu mentions (6)

  • Email Hosting for 100+ mailboxes with 200GB storage
    Self hosted: I use https://mailu.io/2.0/ and it's awesome because it's easy to install and back up, it's lightweight and has all the features I need in a self hosted email solution. I don't send emails directly from my server though because of deliverability issues. Instead I use https://www.zoho.com/zeptomail/ as SMTP relay in Mailu to send emails so I never have to worry about deliverability. Mailu is free and... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Domains and Email hosting
    I just used Mailu[https://mailu.io/2.0/] to setup my email server last week for my domain configured with cloudflare too. It took a while, but I was able to configure it successfully. Source: about 2 years ago
  • should i get 1 or 2 Homeservers
    I thought about using this docker container for email https://mailu.io/2.0/ , I think most of the work is already done there. Source: over 2 years ago
  • How to create my own SMTP Server with my own domain?
    You can use Mailu it's a FOSS and it's pretty much straightforward because it runs on docker. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Maddy: Composable all-in-one mail server
    I see no one has mentioned Mailu (https://mailu.io/1.7/). Itโ€™s a self hosted mail server made up of a couple docker images. I would recommend it based on my use and experience. Iโ€™ve been using it for my personal email and for automated no-reply messages in a few projects with no delivery issues. It handles spam with rspamd, sets you up with DMARC, DKIM, has an admin interface, web mail interface. - Source: Hacker News / over 4 years ago
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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 / 7 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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What are some alternatives?

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

mailcow - An open source mailserver suite.

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

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

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.

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

Poste.io - Full featured email server built in docker with free plan.