mailcow vs poste.io
One container instead of a stack
mailcow and poste.io run the same engines. The difference is whether you maintain a stack of containers or one image.
- 10M+ Docker pulls
- 2014 shipping since
- 1 container to upgrade
Where they differ
| poste.io | mailcow | |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | One container | A docker compose stack |
| Upgrade | Replace one image | Update the whole stack |
| Released as | One unit, tested end to end | Component by component |
| Support | Included with PRO | Community |
The same on both: Rspamd spam filtering, Dovecot IMAP/POP3, ClamAV antivirus, Web administration, REST API, Log viewer, Domain administrators, Unlimited domains and mailboxes.
Being fair about it
mailcow is a great project, built on the same open source components we are. mailcow gives you groupware - shared calendars and address books. We do not.
If you would rather maintain one image than a stack, poste.io may be a better fit.
What you get either way
- Tested as one unit SMTP, IMAP, spam filtering, antivirus, webmail and administration are exercised together against real servers before an image ships. A version bump in one part cannot quietly break another.
- Backward compatible Your data and your configuration survive upgrades. We have not asked anyone to reinstall since 2014.
- No babysitting Upgrading is always the same thing: replace the container. No procedure, no migration script, seconds of downtime. We can do it for you.
- Monitoring included The server watches itself. If you want somebody else to be the one who notices, we can watch it from the outside and step in.
- Custom work is possible The whole thing is ours, so we are not waiting for an upstream project to accept a feature. Tell us what you need.
- Not a weekend project Shipping since 2014, 10M+ Docker pulls, and paying customers who have been with us for years.