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Best Self Hosted Email Server Software?
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Best Self Hosted Email Server Software?

rafathossainrafathossain Member
edited January 2021 in Help
  1. Mailcow
  2. iRedMail
  3. Mail in a box

Any other better alternative?

Best Self Hosted Email Server Software?
  1. Which one is the best for self hosted emails?44 votes
    1. Mailcow
      70.45%
    2. iRedMail
        2.27%
    3. Mail in a box
      13.64%
    4. Other
      13.64%

Comments

  • I use Keyhelp to manage my mail, the German got it right with this one too :smiley:
    Give it a try.

    Thanked by 1lokuzard
  • Mailcow.

    And please use the Poll function for the next time, as offered by LET.

  • None of the above mentioned products is email server software. They are basically just scripts to install bunch of other software packages (postfix for smtp, dovecot for pop3/imap, roundcube for webmail, etc).

    Thanked by 2dominame Erisa
  • ErisaErisa Member
    edited January 2021

    On the assumption you are referring to a complete package that manages email server duties (See above) for you, I cannot stress enough my love for Mailcow (Specifically mailcow-dockerized).

    The admin panel is a little confusing at first but I have grown to love it.
    All I do is set it up on an instance with a "clean" IP address, add my domains/mailboxes and it handles the bulk of the work for me. I even have regular backups of its data and can plug them in to any other new Docker-compatible server to perform a migration or recovery if need be (Never has happened, but what's wrong with entertaining the possibility?)

    Having used both iRedMail and Mail-in-a-box in the past, I simply can't look past how complete and amazing Mailcow-dockerized has been to me. I was on the verge of using a service like MXRoute that comes highly recommended here (And ends up cheaper), but after trying Mailcow-dockerized for the length of time I have, I think I will stick with my own server for the time being (Though will migrate to managed if it ever majorly lets me down).
    I enjoy hosting my own stuff where I can for educational and hobby reasons, so having my own mail server was like a point of pride for me. Glad it worked out.

  • Definitely mailcow :) easy to setup and maintain without headaches

    Thanked by 1Erisa
  • I used to use and love mailcow (still have one running "old" version on Debian 8). I hate docker so there is no way I would use "new" mailcow.

    Nowdays I usually deploy everything "by hand" and I am pretty happy with my setup(s):
    Postfix+Dovecot+Rspamd+Clam(with SaneSecurity unofficial sigs)+Postfixadmin+Rainloop

    I have one server running, as mentioned above, Keyhelp with everything other than email removed from sidebar menu and services stopped (DNS, FTP...).

    However, I find Rspamd much superior nowdays than Spamassassin

    Thanked by 1Erisa
  • @amarc said: I hate docker so there is no way I would use "new" mailcow.

    I am curious, what do you hate about Docker? A few potential things that might be disliked come to mind but I love to learn more from others' experiences (Both negative and positive) so I wonder what your take on the matter is.

  • darkimmortaldarkimmortal Member
    edited January 2021

    @amarc said:
    I used to use and love mailcow (still have one running "old" version on Debian 8). I hate docker so there is no way I would use "new" mailcow.

    Nowdays I usually deploy everything "by hand" and I am pretty happy with my setup(s):
    Postfix+Dovecot+Rspamd+Clam(with SaneSecurity unofficial sigs)+Postfixadmin+Rainloop

    I have one server running, as mentioned above, Keyhelp with everything other than email removed from sidebar menu and services stopped (DNS, FTP...).

    However, I find Rspamd much superior nowdays than Spamassassin

    Agreed on this, I’d never go back to spamassassin. Rspamd is geared towards large setups, but works fantastically for a single user setup too. I’d describe its spam filtering as damn close to 100% accurate, and a lot better than gmail/hotmail/etc

    Setup by hand is the way to go if you want a setup that stands the test of time. Tweaks to, for example, a default Debian install of postfix/dovecot will probably work a decade or more from now with minimal effort. However with these control panel or one click solutions you are reliant on their continued development (and provision of upgrade paths), and in my experience these sorts of things come and go

  • jarjar Patron Provider, Top Host, Veteran

    @Jarry said:
    None of the above mentioned products is email server software. They are basically just scripts to install bunch of other software packages (postfix for smtp, dovecot for pop3/imap, roundcube for webmail, etc).

    I wouldn't so lightly dismiss the management panels and well configured integrations. They're much more valuable than the mere installation of an MTA/LDA.

    Thanked by 1Erisa
  • virtua_cloudvirtua_cloud Member, Patron Provider

    Switched from Mailcow to Poste.io years ago and have never looked back ^^

  • @Erisa said: I am curious, what do you hate about Docker? A few potential things that might be disliked come to mind but I love to learn more from others' experiences (Both negative and positive) so I wonder what your take on the matter is.

    I do not like other people "packaging" stuff for me that "just works". I only trust official "upstream" repo's/packages. I do not like "pseudo containers" which Docker is. I run A LOT of containers.. real one (LXD/LXC). I hate that I have to Google for 20 min. and give up where is fuking email actually stored in mailcow ( /var/vmail//* )?!

    Mailcow is great.. it's just not for me. I like to know my stuff, control it.. Mailcow is for copy/paste one-liners people that just want mail to work. And it will, perfcectly (until it does not then good luck).

  • I am glad that I see another user who dislike dockers. I thought I am the only one.

  • SGrafSGraf Member, Patron Provider

    If you have a vps and are looking for something small that is minimal and fast.

    => opensmtpd + dovecot

    the config files are short and relatively readable.

  • Docker itself is not too bad, but the way people abuse it is really ... :sweat:

    Thanked by 2jar Erisa
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