mailcow vs Stalwart Mail Server (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, mailcow grades higher than Stalwart Mail Server: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
mailcow grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Stalwart Mail Server
Open-source mail and collaboration server written in Rust
Which one is for you
Pick mailcow if
- Fits if you want to run your own mail for a domain or two and know Docker
- Works for admins who want webmail and calendars from one install
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to look after a server
- Skip it if you want guaranteed help, as support is community best-effort
- Watch out: the key pair for stored mail sits in a Docker volume you must back up
- Watch out: managed mailcow comes from Servercow, whose prices we did not read
Pick Stalwart Mail Server if
- Fits if you run mail for a company and want a modern single-binary server
- Works for admins who want multi-tenancy and are fine paying per mailbox
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a hosted service, as the cloud edition is listed for 2027
- Not for you if you have fewer than 25 mailboxes on Enterprise
- Skip it if you don't want to run and update a server
- Watch out: the monthly-billing rate isn't shown and prices switch between euros and dollars
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAmailcowFair | 2.2GPAStalwart Mail ServerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree software, but you rent and run the server, so it's a C by our rule. | CCommunity is free if you host it. Enterprise is $2.40 a mailbox a year, but you pay for at least 25 mailboxes, which is $60 a year. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe software is free with nothing held back. Paid support is a separate subscription from Servercow. | BThe full server is free to run under the AGPL, plus a 30-day trial of Enterprise. You need your own server. |
| Features | BA full mail stack with web admin, SOGo webmail, groups, shared resources, two-factor sign-in and mailbox migration. The listing shows no gap in the job. | BMail and collaboration in one server, with spam filtering, encryption at rest and clustering. The listing shows no gap in the job. |
| Ease of use | DYou run Docker, DNS records, TLS and backups of the volumes yourself. | DYou install, configure and update the server yourself, in either edition. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web admin and webmail, with Outlook, Thunderbird, Keycloak, Nextcloud and Roundcube connections. No apps of its own. | CA web admin and standard protocols, with Sieve, LDAP and OpenID Connect. No apps of its own. |
| Best for | a mail server in Docker | a mail and collaboration server in Rust |
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: mailcow and Stalwart Mail Server. How we grade
Price against what you get
mailcow has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Stalwart Mail Server starts at $0.20 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0.
mailcow scores higher and starts $0.20 a month lower. Of the other email apps on the chart, none scores higher than mailcow for less, and 12 score higher than Stalwart Mail Server for less.
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
Where they differ
- Stalwart Mail Server also covers file sharing and dMARC.
At a glance
| mailcow | Stalwart Mail Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $2.40 per mailbox / year, billed annually (25-mailbox minimum) |
| Free plan | The software is free to run on your own server, with best-effort community support. | Community edition: the full mail server under AGPL-3.0, free to run on your own infrastructure. |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day trial of the Enterprise edition with full access to Enterprise features. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | The Infrastructure Company GmbH | Stalwart Labs |
| Price read from | docs.mailcow.email | stalw.art |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
mailcow
- You run the server yourself: DNS records, TLS, backups of the Docker volumes and updates are yours to manage.
- Official support is community-driven and best-effort; paid support is a separate subscription sold by Servercow.
- Stored mail is compressed and encrypted, and the key pair sits in a Docker volume that must be backed up.
- A managed mailcow is sold by Servercow, whose pages are in German and whose prices were not read here.
Stalwart Mail Server
- Prices are shown in euros or dollars through a toggle; billing can be annual or monthly, and the monthly rate is not shown.
- Enterprise has a 25-mailbox minimum, and deployments above 100,000 mailboxes are quoted.
- Stalwart Enterprise Cloud, the hosted service, is listed as available in 2027, with interest registration only.
- You run and update the server yourself in either edition.
Key features
mailcow
- Complete mail stack in containers
- Postfix, Dovecot, Rspamd spam filtering, optional ClamAV scanning, an Unbound resolver and automatic Let's Encrypt certificates.
- Web admin interface
- Create domains and mailboxes, manage aliases, DKIM and ARC keys, allow and block lists, quarantine and per-user spam scores.
- SOGo webmail and sync
- SOGo provides the webmailer plus CalDAV and CardDAV, with ActiveSync device support.
- Groups and shared resources
- Groups with distribution lists, send-as permissions, shared mailboxes and shared calendars.
- Sign-in and two-factor options
- Login through Keycloak, LDAP or Active Directory, or OIDC, plus TOTP, Yubikey OTP and WebAuthn.
- Mailbox migration
- Built-in imapsync jobs pull or migrate mail from remote mailboxes, including Microsoft 365 and Google over OAuth2.
Stalwart Mail Server
- Mail and collaboration in one server
- JMAP, IMAP and POP3 for mail, SMTP for delivery, plus calendars, contacts and file storage over CalDAV, CardDAV and WebDAV.
- Built-in spam and phishing filtering
- A statistical classifier, public blocklists, sender reputation and AI-driven analysis run inside the server.
- Sender authentication and transport security
- Handles DKIM, SPF, DMARC and ARC, plus DANE, MTA-STS and TLS reporting, with automatic certificate renewal over ACME.
- Encryption at rest
- Mailboxes can be encrypted with the user's own S/MIME certificate or OpenPGP key.
- Clustering
- Runs as a single node or as a cluster across regions.
- Enterprise multi-tenancy
- The Enterprise edition isolates tenants with their own accounts, domains, quotas and branding, for hosting many customers.
Plans
mailcow
mailcow: dockerized$0
Free open-source software you host yourself; community support is voluntary and carries no guarantee.
Stalwart Mail Server
Community$0
Free AGPL-3.0 edition you host yourself, with the same protocols and core mail features as Enterprise.
Enterprise$2.40
per mailbox / year, billed annually, 25 to 499 mailboxes
Adds multi-tenancy, branding, archiving and telemetry. Rate falls to $2.04 at 500 and $1.74 at 1,000 mailboxes.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, mailcow or Stalwart Mail Server?
As of Nov 13, 2026, mailcow is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $0.20 a month when paid by the year for Stalwart Mail Server. mailcow is free, and Stalwart Mail Server starts at $2.40 per mailbox / year, billed annually (25-mailbox minimum).
Which has a free plan, mailcow or Stalwart Mail Server?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both mailcow and Stalwart Mail Server have a free plan.
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.