Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Squirrelmail VS Modoboa

Compare Squirrelmail VS Modoboa and see what are their differences

Squirrelmail logo Squirrelmail

SquirrelMail is a standards-based webmail package written in PHP.

Modoboa logo Modoboa

Modoboa is a mail hosting and management platform including a modern and simplified Web User Interface.
  • Squirrelmail Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-23
  • Modoboa Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-08-05

Squirrelmail features and specs

  • Lightweight
    SquirrelMail is extremely lightweight, making it suitable for small server environments and users with limited resources.
  • Compatibility
    The platform is compatible with any IMAP server and supports a range of popular email features, ensuring broad accessibility.
  • Security
    SquirrelMail focuses on security, providing a robust email environment with minimal vulnerabilities.
  • Simplistic Interface
    The straightforward, no-frills interface makes it easy for users to get accustomed to the platform without a steep learning curve.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, it allows users and developers to modify and customize the software as needed, promoting a collaborative development environment.

Possible disadvantages of Squirrelmail

  • Outdated Appearance
    The user interface of SquirrelMail appears dated compared to modern webmail clients, which may be unappealing to users accustomed to more contemporary designs.
  • Limited Features
    While it covers basic email functionalities, SquirrelMail lacks many advanced features offered by other webmail clients, such as integrated calendars and task management.
  • Maintenance
    SquirrelMail's development has slowed down over the years, and it may not receive frequent updates or new features, potentially impacting long-term usability.
  • Customization Complexity
    Although it is open source, customizing SquirrelMail requires substantial technical knowledge, making it challenging for users without programming expertise.
  • No Built-in Mobile Support
    The platform lacks a native mobile interface, requiring additional steps or third-party solutions for satisfactory mobile device compatibility.

Modoboa features and specs

  • Open Source
    Modoboa is open source, which means it is free to use and can be customized to suit specific needs, making it a cost-effective solution for email hosting.
  • Integration
    It offers seamless integration with many tools and protocols like Postfix, Dovecot, Amavis, and Let's Encrypt, allowing for a comprehensive email system.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    Modoboa provides an intuitive web-based interface that makes it easy for administrators to manage email accounts, domains, and other settings.
  • Mail Security
    It includes security features such as spam filtering and virus protection, enhancing the security of hosted emails.
  • Scalability
    Modoboa is scalable, allowing it to handle small to medium-sized email systems effectively.

Possible disadvantages of Modoboa

  • Installation Complexity
    Setting up Modoboa can be complicated for less experienced users, requiring a good understanding of Linux systems and email protocols.
  • Limited Community Support
    The community around Modoboa is not as large as other open-source projects, which might limit quick access to help and resources.
  • Documentation
    While documentation exists, it might not be as comprehensive or detailed, potentially making troubleshooting more challenging.
  • Resource Intensive
    Modoboa can be resource-heavy, requiring a well-configured server to run optimally, particularly under heavy load.
  • Feature Limitations
    While it covers most essential features for email hosting, some advanced features found in commercial products may be lacking.

Squirrelmail videos

How to Setup a Complete Mail Server Postfix using 'SquirrelMail' Webmail on Ubuntu/Debian

More videos:

  • Tutorial - SquirrelMail Tutorial Series - 6 of 12 - How to manage your address book

Modoboa videos

Mailserver auf Linux vServer (OpenVZ) installieren - Modoboa

More videos:

  • Review - #52 Modoboa - Eigenen Mailserver installieren
  • Tutorial - How To Set Up a Mail Server with Modoboa on Ubuntu 20.04

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Squirrelmail and Modoboa)
Email
31 31%
69% 69
Enterprise Communication
100 100%
0% 0
Self-hosted Email
23 23%
77% 77
Email Service Provider
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 Squirrelmail and Modoboa

Squirrelmail Reviews

Top 15 Self-hosted open-source free web-based email clients
SquirrelMail supports IMAP and SMTP protocols, and does not require JavaScript to render HTML pages or HTML message. It also supports mail attachments, MIME, spam messages filter, messages highlighting, address books, and offers folders support.
Source: medevel.com
5 open source webmail clients for browser-based email
I used to use Squirrelmail, and then moved on to Roundcube. The problem I've had with these has mainly been that it uses the old folder paradigm (thus also requiring an external system for filtering rules). Sieve scripts are fine for neckbeards but definitely not the sort of experience that most users are going to want. I've not really seen anything yet that uses labels &...
Source: opensource.com

Modoboa Reviews

15 Best iRedMail Alternatives 2021
You don’t have to worry about data security because Modoboa routes your mail services through secure server connections and certificates like POP3, SMTP, IMAP, TLS, and SSL. With Modoboa’s easy-to-use administration dashboard, you can manage all your mail accounts, aliases, and domains.
15 Best Email Hosting for Small Business (2019)
Modoboa is a free and open source email hosting and management platform that support SMTP, IMAP/POP. It is written in Python and released under ISC license.
3 Awesome Complete Open Source Mail Servers Solutions For Linux and UNIX servers
Modoboa is a mail hosting and management platform including a modern and simplified Web User Interface. It provides useful components such as an administration panel or a webmail. Modoboa integrates with well known software such as Postfix or Dovecot. A SQL database (MySQL, PostgreSQL or SQLite) is used as a central point of communication between all components. It is...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Modoboa should be more popular than Squirrelmail. It has been mentiond 7 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.

Squirrelmail mentions (4)

  • Meet PostPilot
    Have a local mail server be part of your development environment, along with a frontend like SquirrelMail or RainLoop. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Selfhosted Email by Maddy on Oracle Cloud
    It was removed from Debian in 2016. But there seems to be some recent activity: , . - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Goodbye HTML Gmail
    > I wonder what is the best self-hosted alternative is. For a webmail client probably [SquirrelMail](https://squirrelmail.org/). It's over 2 decades old, still maintained, and kept to its original simplicity. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Is there a way to receive emails on old computers?
    That would not be too hard and only requires a few lines of code to create a TLS proxy. An alternative would be a webmail system if you have a web browser on your old computer. Squirrel mail is extremely basic and is likely going to work in old browsers as long as they support framesets. Source: about 4 years ago

Modoboa mentions (7)

  • Ask HN: Are you aware of a sane path to selfhosted email server?
    I own domain names, but I'm not smart or techie enough to do it myself. I found Modoboa: https://modoboa.org/en/ and when I finally do it and if they are still around, I'll probably go with them. HTH. - Source: Hacker News / 12 months ago
  • I don't know how I feel about email
    Setting it up from scratch is extremely annoying but there are foss solutions which manages everything mentioned and more, you only need to install & add the specified DNS records. Modoboa does a great job at this: https://modoboa.org/en/ > Also apparently there's no real way to migrate between email servers either This seems false (unless I'm misunderstanding), you can just setup a second mailserver, change DNS... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Modoboa Failed
    I did ask over the Form on their website. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Alternative to free Yandex Email Hosting
    Or an open source mail server like https://modoboa.org/en/. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Just finished migrating my old tower servers to a Kubernetes cluster on my new rack!
    For receiving email, I use Modoboa, but I am planning on moving the backend to Docker Mailserver. I usually reply with a Gmail address though. Until I get the email server configured to send emails through something like Sendgrid. Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Squirrelmail and Modoboa, you can also consider the following products

Roundcube - Web-based IMAP email client

mailcow - An open source mailserver suite.

Rainloop - RainLoop is a web based email client.

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.

Mailpile - Mailpile is a modern, fast web-mail client with user-friendly encryption and privacy features.

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