Mailcow
Mail server suite based on Dovecot, Postfix and other open source software, that provides a modern Web UI for administration.
Description from awesome-selfhosted (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Still maintained? Yes: 59 commits in the last 90 days, latest release 2026-10 (Oct 2026).
Also an alternative to Gmail.
At a glance
Mailcow quick facts
- Health score
- 97/100 GOOD
- Stars
- 13,716
- Last commit
- yesterday (Oct 2026)
- Latest release
- 2026-10, Oct 2026
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
Top alternatives to Mailcow
Full rankings: Gmail alternatives
In its own words
The project's README opens: "You can also get a SAL which is a one-time payment with no liabilities or returning fees."
Why it ranks here
Health score explained
Mailcow scores 97/100, #2 of 18 in Communication - Email - Complete Solutions: 59 commits in the last 90 days earn 35.0 of 35 points, the latest release (2026-10, 9 days ago) earns 25.0 of 25, 13,716 stars add 16.5 of 20, an active, unarchived repository keeps 10 and Docker support adds the final 10. That places it in the good band (70 and above). The biggest shortfall is star count, worth 3.5 more points.
Recomputed nightly from the GitHub API. How the score is calculated.
- Commit activity 35.0 / 35
59 commits in 90 days (30+ scores full marks)
- Release recency 25.0 / 25
2026-10 released 9 days ago
- Stars biggest shortfall 16.5 / 20
14k stars on GitHub (logarithmic)
- Not archived 10.0 / 10
Repository is active
- Docker support 10.0 / 10
Docker image or Compose file available
Commit activity
- 59
- Last 90 days
- 334
- Last 12 months
- yesterday
- Last push
Ranked #2 of 18 tools in Communication - Email - Complete Solutions by health , between docker-mailserver (#1) and Stalwart Mail Server (#3) .
Details
| Licence | GPL-3.0 |
| Platforms | Docker, PHP |
| Latest release | 2026-10 · 9 days ago |
| Stars | 13,716 |
| Open issues | 469 |
| Docker | Yes |
| Repository | mailcow/mailcow-dockerized ↗ |
Mailcow vs its top 5 alternatives
Active tools that share a comparison page or a category with Mailcow (Communication - Email - Complete Solutions), scored on the same five terms.
| Tool | Health | Stars | Licence | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| docker-mailserver | 97 | 20k | MIT | 4 days ago |
| Mailcow (this tool) | 97 | 14k | GPL-3.0 | yesterday |
| Mailu | 96 | 7.6k | MIT | yesterday |
| Modoboa | 84 | 3.5k | ISC | yesterday |
| Maddy Mail Server | 80 | 6.1k | GPL-3.0 | today |
| iRedMail | 39 | 1.8k | GPL-3.0 | 2 days ago |
Mailcow: common questions
What does Mailcow replace?
Repoly lists Mailcow as an open-source alternative to Gmail. Each comparison page ranks every alternative by the same health score, so you can see where Mailcow stands against the others.
Is Mailcow still maintained?
Mailcow had 59 commits in the last 90 days and its last push was yesterday; the latest tagged release, 2026-10, is from 9 days ago. Repoly recomputes this nightly.
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