Alternatives · Email

Mailu alternatives

As of Nov 13, 2026, the highest-graded Mailu alternative is mailcow (2.4 GPA). It's also the best free one.

Mailu compared with 6 alternatives: mailcow, Mail-in-a-Box, docker-mailserver, Modoboa, Stalwart Mail Server and 1 more.

Mailu is free to use. All 6 alternatives are free or have a free plan.

Listings checked up to Nov 13, 2026 · Where the facts come from

At a glance

Tool	Price	Free plan	Runs on
MailuThis tool	Free	Free	Web
mailcow	Free	Free	Web
Mail-in-a-Box	Free	Free	Web
docker-mailserver	Free	Free	Linux
Modoboa	Free	Free	Web
Stalwart Mail Server	Free plan · from $2.40/yr	Yes	Web
iRedMail	Free plan · from $499/yr	Yes	Linux

Price against what you get

Mailu has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. None of the 6 alternatives on this chart both scores higher and starts lower.

mailcow, Mail-in-a-Box, Modoboa and Stalwart Mail Server score higher without starting lower.

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

The best score at each price
Has a free plan
No free plan

The full chart of email apps, and the best at every price

How each one differs from Mailu

mailcow
Dockerized open-source mail server with a web admin UI
- mailcow is free.
- mailcow also covers calendar.
- mailcow does not cover dMARC, which Mailu does.
Suits: Admins who want a ready-made self-hosted mail server for a few domains
mailcow vs Mailu mailcow pricing and details
Mail-in-a-Box
Free script that turns a cloud server into your own mail server
- Mail-in-a-Box is free.
- Mail-in-a-Box also covers calendar.
- Mail-in-a-Box does not cover dMARC, which Mailu does.
Suits: Individuals and small groups who want to run their own mail service
Mail-in-a-Box vs Mailu Mail-in-a-Box pricing and details
docker-mailserver
Self-hosted mail server packaged as a Docker container
- docker-mailserver is free.
- docker-mailserver also lists a Linux app.
- docker-mailserver lists no web app, which Mailu has.
- docker-mailserver does not cover email client and dMARC, which Mailu does.
Suits: Technical users who want a mail server managed as config files
docker-mailserver vs Mailu docker-mailserver pricing and details
Modoboa
Open-source mail server with a web admin panel and webmail
- Modoboa is free.
- Modoboa also covers calendar.
- Modoboa does not cover dMARC, which Mailu does.
Suits: Individuals and small organizations that want their own mail server
Modoboa vs Mailu Modoboa pricing and details
Stalwart Mail Server
Open-source mail and collaboration server written in Rust
- Stalwart Mail Server starts at $2.40 per mailbox / year, billed annually (25-mailbox minimum).
- Stalwart Mail Server also covers calendar and file sharing.
Suits: Self-hosters who want one program instead of a separate MTA, spam filter and calendar server
Stalwart Mail Server vs Mailu Stalwart Mail Server pricing and details
iRedMail
Open-source mail server installer for Linux and BSD
- iRedMail starts at $499 for a 1-year iRedAdmin-Pro license, $250 per year to renew.
- iRedMail also lists a Linux app.
- iRedMail lists no web app, which Mailu has.
- iRedMail also covers calendar.
- iRedMail does not cover dMARC, which Mailu does.
Suits: Admins who want a self-run mail server without per-mailbox fees
iRedMail vs Mailu iRedMail pricing and details

Limits worth knowing in Mailu

You provide and maintain the server, DNS records, TLS and backups yourself.
The project says it aims to avoid groupware features, so calendars and contacts are not part of the core.
Support is from the community and contributors; no paid plan appears on the site.
The documentation is versioned, so check you are reading the version you run.

Mailu pricing and details

Common questions

What are the alternatives to Mailu?

The alternatives to Mailu in this directory are mailcow, Mail-in-a-Box, docker-mailserver, Modoboa, Stalwart Mail Server and iRedMail. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Mailu.

Is there a free alternative to Mailu?

Yes. mailcow, Mail-in-a-Box, docker-mailserver and Modoboa are free to use. Stalwart Mail Server and iRedMail have a free plan alongside paid ones.

Which Mailu alternatives work on Linux?

The Mailu listing does not include a Linux app. docker-mailserver and iRedMail list one.

When were these prices checked?

Every listing on this page was checked on Nov 13, 2026, against the pages it cites. Vendors change prices without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.

How this page was made

Where any alternative here is in our top three email apps, the best for most people is the highest placed of them: the top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades. Otherwise the page names the highest-graded alternative in the same category as Mailu, the one its listing names first winning a tie. The best free one is the highest-graded alternative that is free or has a free plan (a free trial does not count), with its catch quoted from its listing where the listing states a short one. The GPA is the average of our five grades for each tool.
The alternatives are the tools Mailu’s listing names as its closest substitutes, and the tools whose listings name Mailu.
Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing, which names the pages they were read from.
The differences are worked out from those listings.
The chart sets each tool’s starting price against our own grades for features, ease of use and platforms.

Read the method All email apps

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