Horde vs Kopano (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Horde grades higher than Kopano: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Horde grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Kopano
Container-based business email and calendar for hosting providers
Free trial
Which one is for you
Pick Horde if
- Fits if you already run a mail server and want webmail in front of it
- Works for people who like open-source suites and don't need a company behind it
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to run and update a server
- Skip it if you want a support contract, as support is the community or a third-party sponsor
- Watch out: Horde 6 and IMP 7 shipped with rough edges and a security fix soon after
- Watch out: no vendor means no service-level guarantee
Pick Kopano if
- Fits if you are a hosting provider that wants to resell business mail
- Works for a managed-service company that already runs containers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you are an individual buyer, as the site is written for partners
- Skip it if you want a price first, since access starts with a demo and a proof of concept
- Watch out: Kopano Groupware reached end of life in 2024 and was replaced by Kopano Cloud
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAHordeFair | 2.2GPAKopanoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree, but only if you host it yourself, so there's a server to pay for. | CNo prices are published, so there's nothing to compare. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe whole suite is free under open-source licences, with no paid tier. You supply the server. | CA free 30-day trial for up to ten users, through a demo environment. You go through a demo first. |
| Features | BWebmail, calendar, contacts, tasks, CalDAV, CardDAV and ActiveSync. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the groupware job. | BWeb mail and calendar, Outlook and mobile connectivity, multi-tenant administration and branding. The listing shows no gap in the job. |
| Ease of use | DYou install and maintain it yourself, on top of a mail server. | DIt's a container deployment that a provider sets up, and the site is written for partners. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web interface with sync to other clients over CalDAV, CardDAV and ActiveSync. No apps of its own. | BWeb, with Outlook, ActiveSync, IMAP, POP3, LDAP and Active Directory connections. |
| Best for | free webmail and groupware you host yourself | business email and calendar for hosting providers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Horde and Kopano. How we grade
Where they differ
- Horde is open source, according to its own site.
- Horde also covers notes.
In commonWebSelf-hostableTasksCalendarEmail client
At a glance
| Horde | Kopano | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | Not published |
| Free plan | The whole suite is free to download and run yourself; the project sells no paid tier. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free 30-day trial for up to ten users, through a demo environment |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Horde Project | NHe4a GmbH |
| Price read from | horde.org | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Horde
- You install and maintain it yourself; it is a client and groupware layer that needs your own mail server.
- Support is community-based; the project points to B1 Systems for paid hosting and support.
- The project blog describes recent releases (Horde 6, IMP 7) with rough edges and a security fix shortly after launch.
- It is community-maintained with no vendor behind it, so there is no service-level guarantee.
Kopano
- No prices are published; access starts with a demo, a meeting and a proof of concept.
- The site is written for partners and managed service providers, not for individual buyers.
- The earlier Kopano Groupware product reached end of life in 2024 and was replaced by Kopano Cloud.
Key features
Horde
- Webmail client
- IMAP and POP3 mail with 3-pane and 3-column layouts, conversation view, filtering, searching and a WYSIWYG composer.
- Message security
- Encrypting and signing messages with S/MIME and PGP, plus quota support and shared IMAP folders.
- Calendars, contacts and tasks
- Shared calendars, address books, task lists and notepads, with unlimited resources per user.
- Sync with other clients
- CalDAV, CardDAV and ActiveSync support, plus responsive, basic and mobile interfaces.
- Wider app suite
- Applications for files, bookmarks, time tracking and more can be added, and the PHP libraries underneath are reusable.
- Translations
- The groupware pages say it is translated into 41 languages, including right-to-left scripts.
Kopano
- Web mail and calendar
- A browser client covers email, calendar, contacts and tasks, with out-of-office replies, mail filters, shared folders and free/busy scheduling.
- Outlook and mobile connectivity
- Outlook connects natively through autodiscover, phones and tablets use ActiveSync, and other clients can use IMAP, POP3 or EWS.
- Container deployment
- The stack ships as OCI (Docker) containers that are meant to be deployed and updated in the customer's own environment.
- Multi-tenant administration
- A multi-tenant design with a self-management interface for tenant admins, a REST API for automation and an agent for LDAP or Active Directory sync.
- Branding
- Central branding settings let a provider change colors in the web interface and optionally supply branded end-user documentation.
Plans
Horde
Horde Groupware$0
Free LGPL and GPL software you host yourself. Paid support comes from third-party sponsors such as B1 Systems.
Kopano
Pricing could not be confirmed. See kopano.cloud.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Horde or Kopano?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Horde is free, and Kopano has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Horde or Kopano?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Horde has a free plan. Kopano does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.