Software Alternatives & Startups

Mailu VS Sendmail

Compare Mailu VS Sendmail and see what are their differences

Mailu logo Mailu

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

Sendmail logo Sendmail

Sendmail is a general purpose internetwork email routing facility that supports many kinds of...
Not present
  • Sendmail Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-11

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.

Sendmail features and specs

  • Established Reputation
    Sendmail has been in operation since the early days of email, providing a solid foundation and reliability in Unix-based email systems. Its long-standing presence indicates a mature and well-understood system.
  • Highly Configurable
    Sendmail offers extensive configuration options, allowing administrators to customize their setup to accommodate complex email routing and handling requirements.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source software, Sendmail offers transparency in its operations, enabling community contributions and adaptations to specific needs without licensing costs.
  • Wide Compatibility
    Sendmail is compatible with a variety of email standards and protocols, which facilitates integration with different email systems and services.

Possible disadvantages of Sendmail

  • Complex Configuration
    The extensive configurability of Sendmail comes at the cost of a steep learning curve; its configuration files are complex and can be challenging for beginners.
  • Security Concerns
    Historically, Sendmail has had several vulnerabilities, partly due to its complexity and pervasive use. It requires diligent updates and security management.
  • Less User-Friendly
    Compared to more modern solutions, Sendmail lacks a user-friendly interface, making it harder for less technically inclined users to manage and configure.
  • Performance Limitations
    Sendmail can be less efficient than some modern mail transfer agents in terms of resource usage and performance, especially in high-volume environments.

Mailu videos

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

Sendmail videos

breve configuracion de sendmail

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Mailu and Sendmail)
Email
57 57%
43% 43
Self-hosted Email
84 84%
16% 16
SMTP Servers
0 0%
100% 100
Email Management
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

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

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

Sendmail Reviews

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

Based on our record, Mailu should be more popular than Sendmail. It has been mentiond 6 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.

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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 years ago
  • Maddy: Composable all-in-one mail server
    I see no one has mentioned Mailu (https://mailu.io/1.7/). It’s a self hosted mail server made up of a couple docker images. I would recommend it based on my use and experience. I’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 / about 5 years ago
View more

Sendmail mentions (1)

  • Sendmail and Exchange online - 550 5.1.10 RESOLVER.ADR.RecipientNotFound; Recipient not found by SMTP address lookup
    We are using sendmail and Exchange online with to different identies. We are experience problem that we want to receive Teams invitation to our @ sendmail.com address, when I forward teams invitation fromexchange online identite to "sendemail" identetie we are getting error. Source: over 5 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Mailu and Sendmail, you can also consider the following products

mailcow - An open source mailserver suite.

Postfix - Postfix is a mail transfer agent (MTA) that routes and delivers electronic mail.

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.

Exim - Exim is a message transfer agent (MTA) developed at the University of Cambridge for use on Unix systems connected to the Internet.

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

sSMTP - sSMTP is a simple MTA to deliver mail from a computer to a mail server.