Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups
Register | Login

WildDuck VS Mail-in-a-box

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

MailReach.co
The #1 email warming service to improve your deliverability by generating realistic and meaningful engagement to your emails. Easy-to-use solution to help you land in the main inbox instead of the spam folder. featured
Contents:
  1. » Base Details
  2. » Videos
  3. » Reviews
  4. » Alternatives

WildDuck logo WildDuck

Self hosted modern mail server

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.
  • WildDuck Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-15
  • Mail-in-a-box Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-21

WildDuck features and specs

  • Open Source
    WildDuck is open source, allowing users to inspect and modify the code, and ensuring more transparency and control compared to proprietary solutions.
  • Modern Protocol Support
    Supports modern email protocols such as JMAP and IMAP, providing compatibility with a wide range of email clients and services.
  • Scalability
    Designed to handle large volumes of emails, making it suitable for both small businesses and large organizations with extensive email needs.
  • Multi-domain Support
    Can manage multiple email domains from a single installation, providing flexibility for businesses handling several brands or projects.
  • Security Features
    Includes built-in security features such as end-to-end encryption, ensuring that email communications are secure and compliant with privacy standards.
  • User Management
    Offers detailed user management capabilities, allowing administrators to manage user accounts, quotas, and permissions effectively.

Possible disadvantages of WildDuck

  • Complex Setup
    Installation and configuration can be complex and may require a good understanding of server management and email protocols, posing a challenge for less experienced users.
  • Limited Documentation
    May not have as extensive documentation or community support as more established email servers, which can make troubleshooting and customization difficult.
  • Resource Intensive
    Can be resource-intensive, requiring significant server resources to manage large volumes of emails effectively.
  • Ongoing Maintenance
    Requires regular maintenance and updates to ensure optimal performance and security, which can be demanding for organizations with limited technical staff.
  • Learning Curve
    Users and administrators may face a steep learning curve due to the advanced features and modern protocols used by WildDuck.

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.

WildDuck videos

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

Add video

Mail-in-a-box videos

+ Add

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 WildDuck and Mail-in-a-box)

WildDuck

Mail-in-a-box

Email
15 15%
Email
85% 85
Self-hosted Email
25 25%
Self-hosted Email
75% 75
Email Service Provider
25 25%
Email Service Provider
75% 75
Email Clients
0 0%
Email Clients
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using WildDuck and Mail-in-a-box. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

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

WildDuck Reviews

20+ Options for hosting our own mail server
wildduck.email This is another open source email setup. Here are few lines from their github page. WildDuck is a scalable no-SPOF IMAP/POP3 mail server. WildDuck uses a distributed database (sharded + replicated MongoDB) as a backend for storing all data, including emails. WildDuck tries to follow Gmail in product design. If there's a decision to be made then usually the...
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.
Source: blog.runcloud.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Mail-in-a-box seems to be a lot more popular than WildDuck. While we know about 125 links to Mail-in-a-box, we've tracked only 8 mentions of WildDuck. 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.

WildDuck mentions (8)

  • Ask HN: What do you think about EUPL in comparison to other copyleft licences?
    Nodemailer author here. I now publish all my libraries/tools (like Nodemailer) under some permissive license (MIT, MIT-0, ISC). This gives the opportunity to use such a library without issues, and the end user never knows about these tools anyway. For example if I build a OSS software and commercial software that both use such library, then it is easier to manage it under permissive license - I don't want copyleft... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Just got a brand new server, what do I do first?
    - https://wildduck.email/ (E-mail) Even though I have self-hosted things individually (eg: my Ghost blog on a RasPi connected to my home WiFi), something which I've always been concerned about is the separation of all these services, since they must have APIs and access rules. What's an ideal way of setting up a multi-service server like this, and what security policies should I implement.... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Self-hosted email is the hardest it's ever been, but also the easiest
    The largest WildDuck installation manages 100k+ email accounts with around 300TB of stored emails. So it does not always have to be one of the old and tried softwares. https://wildduck.email/. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Email Done My Way, Part 0 – The Journey
    - Combine with [WildDuck](https://wildduck.email/)? [0]: https://vadosware.io/post/its-never-been-easier-or-harder-to-self-host-email/ [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32720234. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • The Case for Unique Email Addresses
    Or install https://wildduck.email or mail in the box type of server, just host it yourself. Wildduck web interface allows you to make unlimited alias already. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
View more

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?
    I’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 – 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
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing WildDuck 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.

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

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

Emails - Simple, easy and secure mail server with a convenient and simple interface.

Loading...