Self-hosted alternatives to Gmail
Your address is your identity online, and it lives on an account that can be suspended without appeal.
Below are 10 open-source projects that cover the same ground, each scored 0–100 on how actively it is actually maintained — commit volume, release cadence and recent trend. 6 of the 10 are currently rated healthy or better. Ordering reflects that score, not sponsorship.
| Project | Health | Activity (11 mo) | Stars | Licence | Last release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stalwart Mail Server All-in-one mail server with JMAP, IMAP4, and SMTP support and a wide range of modern features. | Thriving · 82 | 15k | AGPL-3.0 | 27 Sept 2026 | |
| Forward Email Privacy-focused encrypted email for everyone. All-in-one alternative to Gmail + Mailchimp + Sendgrid. | Healthy · 80 | 1.7k | BUSL-1.1 | 25 Sept 2026 | |
| Modoboa Mail hosting and management platform including a modern and simplified web user interface. | Healthy · 77 | 3.5k | ISC | 17 Sept 2026 | |
| Mailcow Mail server suite based on Dovecot, Postfix and other open source software, that provides a modern Web UI for | Healthy · 76 | 14k | GPL-3.0 | 21 Sept 2026 | |
| docker-mailserver Production-ready fullstack but simple mail server (SMTP, IMAP, LDAP, Antispam, Antivirus, etc.) running inside | Healthy · 69 | 19k | MIT | 4 Sept 2026 | |
| Mailu Simple yet full-featured mail server as a set of Docker images. | Healthy · 68 | 7.5k | MIT | 23 Sept 2026 | |
| DebOps Your Debian-based data center in a box. A set of general-purpose Ansible roles that can be used to manage Debi | Steady · 67 | 1.4k | GPL-3.0 | 14 Sept 2026 | |
| SimpleLogin Open source email alias solution to protect your email address. Comes with browser extensions and mobile apps. | Steady · 63 | 7k | MIT | 23 Sept 2026 | |
| Mox Complete e-mail solution with IMAP4, SMTP, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MTA-STS, DANE and DNSSEC, reputation-based and co | Steady · 62 | 5.9k | MIT | 19 Aug 2026 | |
| Mail-in-a-Box Turns any Ubuntu server into a fully functional mail server with one command. | Slowing · 46 | 15k | CC0-1.0 | 26 Sept 2026 |
How these were picked
Every project listed here is open source and can run entirely on hardware you control. We start from the categories that match Gmail's job — Communication - Email - Complete Solutions — then rank by health score so that a popular-but-abandoned project never appears above a smaller one that is actively shipping. The scoring method is documented in full.
The scores are recomputed from repository data on every rebuild, so this page reflects the state of these projects as of 1 Oct 2026 — not the day it was written.
Stalwart Mail Server
All-in-one mail server with JMAP, IMAP4, and SMTP support and a wide range of modern features.
Best fit: It is well-suited for system administrators looking to deploy a contemporary, containerised email stack with support for modern protocols like JMAP.
Worth knowing: Self-hosting email carries a high operational burden regarding deliverability, DNS configuration, and security, compounded by the copyleft requirements of the AGPL-3.0 licence.
Forward Email
Privacy-focused encrypted email for everyone. All-in-one alternative to Gmail + Mailchimp + Sendgrid.
Best fit: It suits technical administrators who want to host their own encrypted email infrastructure and communication workflows using containerised environments.
Worth knowing: Self-hosting email infrastructure involves managing complex Domain Name System records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, alongside the operational risk of IP blacklisting. The licensing model also uses the Business Source Licence alongside the Mozilla Public Licence, which may restrict certain commercial uses.
Modoboa
Mail hosting and management platform including a modern and simplified web user interface.
Best fit: System administrators looking for an integrated web interface to manage email infrastructure on their own hardware without relying entirely on command-line tools.
Worth knowing: Email server administration carries a high operational burden regarding DNS configuration, IP reputation, and spam prevention, which this platform does not eliminate entirely.
Mailcow
Mail server suite based on Dovecot, Postfix and other open source software, that provides a modern Web UI for administration.
Best fit: Self-hosters who need to run a full-featured mail server and prefer a unified web interface over manual configuration file editing.
Worth knowing: Running your own mail server involves significant operational burden regarding IP reputation, spam filtering, and DNS record management. Misconfiguration can easily lead to delivery failures.
docker-mailserver
Production-ready fullstack but simple mail server (SMTP, IMAP, LDAP, Antispam, Antivirus, etc.) running inside a container. Only configuration files, no SQL database.
Best fit: Self-hosters who want to run a complete, self-contained mail stack entirely through container orchestration and file-based configuration.
Worth knowing: Email server administration carries a notoriously high operational burden, particularly around maintaining proper deliverability, reverse DNS records, and IP reputation.