# Mailu review (2026): is it any good? > Free Docker-based mail server with webmail and admin UI Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Mailu is a mail server packaged as a set of Docker images. It provides IMAP, SMTP and submission, webmail, an admin interface, spam and virus filtering, and DNS and TLS helpers. It is free software maintained by contributors and run on your own server, with Docker Compose and Kubernetes setups documented. - **Category:** Email Apps - **Made by:** Mailu project - **Website:** https://mailu.io/2024.06 - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want calendars and contacts, since the project says it avoids groupware. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Mailu is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** The whole mail server is free software; you provide the server, domain and upkeep. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Mailu | $0 | Free software you host yourself. The docs list 1 GB of memory without antivirus or 3 GB with it. | Read from https://mailu.io/2024.06/index.html on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Mailu before buying. ## Key features - **Standard mail server:** IMAP, SMTP and submission with auto-configuration profiles for mail clients. - **Webmail and admin interface:** Includes web access to mail and an admin interface with global admins, per-domain delegation, announcements and quotas. - **User mail features:** Aliases, domain aliases, auto-reply, auto-forward, fetched accounts, ManageSieve and full-text search of attachments. - **Security options:** Enforced TLS, DANE, MTA-STS, Let's Encrypt, outgoing DKIM, an antivirus scanner and blocking of malicious attachments. - **Spam filtering:** Auto-learning, greylisting, DMARC and SPF checks and anti-spoofing. - **Compose and Kubernetes setups:** Documented Docker Compose and Kubernetes installs, a RESTful API and a command line for administration. ## Good for - Self-hosters who want a lean mail server without groupware extras - Admins already running Docker or Kubernetes - Small organizations hosting mail for their own domains ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Mailu is a free Docker-based mail server with webmail and an admin panel. You supply the server, DNS, TLS and backups, and the project avoids groupware, so there are no calendars or contacts. - **Value for money: C.** Free to run yourself, with a server to provide. The docs ask for 1 GB of memory, or 3 GB with antivirus. - **Free plan and trial: B.** The whole server is free software, with no paid plan. You provide the machine and the upkeep. - **Features: C.** Standard mail, webmail, an admin panel, spam filtering and security options. The project says it avoids groupware, so calendars and contacts are missing. - **Ease of use: D.** You run Docker or Kubernetes, DNS records and TLS yourself. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web admin and webmail, with Docker, Kubernetes and Let's Encrypt. No apps of its own. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from the Mailu project's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among email apps - Mailu's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 11 of the 122 other email apps we grade, and level with 17. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 69 of 122) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - Mailu has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/email ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Mailu is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 94 of the 122 other email apps grade higher. - You could not: An email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail. - You could not: Reading the reports inbox providers send about your domain. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Docker, Kubernetes, Let's Encrypt **Tags:** Open source, Self-hostable, Email client, DMARC ## Alternatives - [mailcow](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mailcow): Dockerized open-source mail server with a web admin UI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mailcow-vs-mailu) - [Mail-in-a-Box](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mail-in-a-box): Free script that turns a cloud server into your own mail server. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mail-in-a-box-vs-mailu) - [docker-mailserver](https://toolgpa.com/tools/docker-mailserver): Self-hosted mail server packaged as a Docker container. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/docker-mailserver-vs-mailu) - [Modoboa](https://toolgpa.com/tools/modoboa): Open-source mail server with a web admin panel and webmail. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mailu-vs-modoboa) - [Stalwart Mail Server](https://toolgpa.com/tools/stalwart): Open-source mail and collaboration server written in Rust. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mailu-vs-stalwart) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://mailu.io/2024.06/index.html - https://mailu.io/2024.06/compose/requirements.html Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/mailu Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).