The best mail servers, according to hackers
9 mail servers recommended in Hacker News comments over the past year, ranked by how many separate people recommend each one.
- Most recommendedStalwart Mail Server27 people recommend it
- Built to lastPostfixowners report a median of 22 years
- Least regretMail-in-a-Box11 recommend, 0 criticize
All mail servers
- Stalwart Mail ServerPraised as an easy, single-binary self-hosted mail server that replaces several separate tools; critics mention a large binary and occasional crashes during self updates.27recommend
- PostfixLong-running, low-maintenance mail transfer agent that people run on small VPSes alongside Dovecot, with a strong security record. Critics say its configuration is painful.21recommend
- DovecotUsed to self-host IMAP mail with little upkeep; praised as mature, free and lock-in free. Caveat: a significant investment to set up.18recommend
- qmailAdmired for simple design, security built in from the start, and very few bugs. Common caveat: no forks allowed, so it fell behind modern needs like spam filtering.15recommend
- mailcowRecommended for making a self-hosted mail server easy to set up in Docker and keep updated with routine upgrades, with documentation praised.15recommend
- Microsoft Exchange ServerCompanies on Microsoft software use it for email and calendars because it integrates tightly with Office and Teams. Critics call it fragile and locking in customers.14recommend
- Mox email serverFree self-hosted mail server that people recommend for personal and small-team email, since its installer guides setup, signs mail by default and checks the configuration.14recommend
- Mail-in-a-BoxPeople recommend it as an easy way to run your own complete mail server, bundling the mail services that would otherwise take manual setup. Owners who said anything report running it for years with little trouble.11recommend
- OpenSMTPDRecommended as a simple, low-config mail server that runs well on small OpenBSD and Linux machines. Critics cite its security record, including a past remote root vulnerability.9recommend