Self-host Mailcow

Mail Server

deployed & timed by usprices checked · Jul 2026

A full-featured, Docker-based mail server suite — Postfix, Dovecot, SOGo webmail, ActiveSync, antispam, and a polished admin UI — the popular self-hosted alternative to Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 for small teams. It is a heavier, multi-container stack: 6 GB of RAM is the minimum, 8 GB recommended. As with any self-hosted mail, expect to manage deliverability (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and reverse DNS) so your mail reaches inboxes.

Google Workspace / yr$84

Self-hosted / yr~$55

You keep$29/yr

Pocket the difference — spin it up on a cheap VPS in minutes.Start free on Kamatera →

Key facts

CategoryMail Server

LicenseGPL-3.0

StackPHP, Shell

Min RAM6144 MB

Dockeryes

Difficulty

What you need

Any VPS with at least 6144 MB of RAM
A domain you control — most self-hosted setups need HTTPS in front of them
About the better part of a day

Install

Run these commands on your server:

# Mailcow — ~20-container stack; admin UI at https://YOUR_HOST/admin
cd /opt && sudo git clone https://github.com/mailcow/mailcow-dockerized && cd mailcow-dockerized
sudo ./generate_config.sh   # prompts for hostname + timezone
sudo docker compose pull && sudo docker compose up -d

deploy guideHow to Deploy Mailcow on a VPS vps picksBest VPS for self-hostingbenchmarked quarterly · re-priced monthly

An alternative to

Google Workspace →Microsoft 365 →

Head-to-head

MailJul 2026

Mailcow

Stalwart

One Rust binary vs. the full container suite.

Read the verdict →

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Command Palette

Self-host Mailcow

Key facts

What you need

Install

An alternative to

Head-to-head

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