Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Sendmail VS Postfix

Compare Sendmail VS Postfix and see what are their differences

Sendmail logo Sendmail

Sendmail is a general purpose internetwork email routing facility that supports many kinds of...

Postfix logo Postfix

Postfix is a mail transfer agent (MTA) that routes and delivers electronic mail.
  • Sendmail Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-11
  • Postfix Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-15

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.

Postfix features and specs

  • Security
    Postfix is known for its robust security features, including strong defenses against spam and malware.
  • Performance
    Postfix is designed to be efficient under heavy loads, making it suitable for both small and large-scale email servers.
  • Compatibility
    Postfix is compatible with various mail protocols such as SMTP, making it versatile for different email infrastructures.
  • Reliability
    Postfix is highly reliable, offering consistent performance and uptime, which is critical for mail servers.
  • Configuration
    Postfix offers a flexible and understandable configuration system, allowing administrators to fine-tune the server settings as per their needs.
  • Community Support
    There is a strong community and extensive documentation available, providing support and resources for troubleshooting and advanced configurations.
  • Lightweight
    Postfix is relatively lightweight, ensuring that it doesn't consume excessive system resources.

Possible disadvantages of Postfix

  • Complexity
    Despite its powerful features, setting up and configuring Postfix can be complex, especially for beginners who are not familiar with mail servers.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with understanding its configuration files and parameters, which can be daunting for new users.
  • Limited GUI Options
    Postfix does not come with a built-in graphical user interface, making it less accessible for users who prefer GUI-based management.
  • Dependency on Other Software
    Postfix often relies on additional software (like Dovecot for IMAP/POP) for full functionality, which can complicate setup and maintenance.
  • Debugging Complexity
    Debugging issues with Postfix can be complicated due to its extensive feature set and numerous configuration options.

Sendmail videos

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Postfix videos

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Sendmail and Postfix)
Email
31 31%
69% 69
SMTP Server
28 28%
72% 72
MTA
44 44%
56% 56
Self-hosted Email
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 Sendmail and Postfix

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Postfix Reviews

10 Microsoft Exchange Server Alternatives
Postfix is an MTA that allows the user to receive and deliver electronic mail. The platform is open-sourced that is easy to administer, attempts to be fast, and a secure way for the usage of EM. It is also known by the names of IBM Secure Mailer and VMailer. Many of the systems that support Postfix runs such as AIX, BSD, HP-UX, LINUX, macOS, Solaris, Tru64 UNIX, etc. The...
15 Best iRedMail Alternatives 2021
Postfix is very emphatic when it comes to security. Like iRedMail, it is able to encrypt your sessions and perform certificate-based authentication to keep your mail services secure, private, and protected. Postfix also offers stress adaptive features and various content inspection methods to choose from.

Social recommendations and mentions

Postfix might be a bit more popular than Sendmail. We know about 1 link to it since March 2021 and only 1 link to Sendmail. 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.

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: about 4 years ago

Postfix mentions (1)

  • OVH VPS Postfix can't receive external emails
    Read the documentation on postfix.org and/or buy one of the many available Postfix books (it really helps to understand the Postfix philosophy). Source: about 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

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

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

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.

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

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

MailerQ - MailerQ is a high performance Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) designed for delivering large volume email messages at very high speeds.

sendEmail - sendEmail is a lightweight, command line SMTP email client.