Loops vs Mailcow
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Loops and Mailcow.
Quick Verdict
3.9/5
Loops
0 reviews
4.1/5
Mailcow
0 reviews
Mailcow is rated higher (4.1 vs 3.9). Loops is an email platform for SaaS companies that combines marketing, transactional and lifecycle email, priced by subscribed contacts with unlimited sends on paid plans. Mailcow is a free, open source email server suite running on Docker. Complete mail server with anti-spam, anti-virus, webmail, SOGo, and admin panel. Self-host on any VPS.
Loops Email platform for SaaS: marketing, transactional and lifecycle email in one | Mailcow Self-hosted email server with Docker | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.9 (0 reviews) | 4.1 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | free |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free |
| Best for | SaaS teams that want marketing, lifecycle and transactional email in one developer-friendly product with unlimited sends and predictable contact-based pricing — especially those with engaged, modest-sized lists. | Sysadmins and small organisations who want self-hosted, sovereign email on their own server with full groupware, and who can operate a Docker-based mail stack |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | — | 1 vCPU |
| RAM | — | 6 GB |
| Storage | — | 20 GB |
| Bandwidth | — | — |
| SLA uptime | — | — |
| Data-center count | — | — |
| €/vCPU/mo | — | €0.00 |
| €/GB RAM/mo | — | €0.00 |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | — | Not applicable — self-hosted; managed mailcow runs in Germany |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tierapi access | free tieropen sourceself hostable |
| Visit Loops → | Visit Mailcow → | |
Loops
Pros
- + Unlimited marketing and transactional sends on every paid plan, priced by contacts
- + Marketing and transactional email share one platform and one contact model
- + Free plan stores unlimited contacts and includes all platform features
- + No per-seat charges and no credit card required to start
- + Refreshingly candid pricing documentation, including machine-readable pricing
- + Developer-first API with SDKs for transactional and marketing sends
Cons
- - Steep jump from the free plan (1,000 contacts) to the first paid tier ($49/month)
- - Dormant subscribed contacts cost money every month — list hygiene is mandatory
- - Thinner automation and segmentation depth than mature marketing platforms
- - Small vendor (YC W22, roughly a dozen people) with a short track record
- - No published SLA outside Enterprise; infrastructure and deliverability details are scarce
Mailcow
Pros
- + Free GPLv3 suite with the full mail stack (groupware, ActiveSync, Rspamd, ClamAV) — no seats, no volume caps
- + Specific, credible hardware requirements and detailed ops documentation
- + Active monthly release train with prompt security patches (e.g. CVE-2026-33278 fix in May 2026, forced 2FA in March 2026)
- + Vendor-backed escape hatches: shared mailcow from EUR 8.90/mo and managed mailcow from EUR 54.90/mo in Germany
Cons
- - Needs real server management skills (Docker, DNS, PTR, firewall chains, updates)
- - 6 GiB RAM minimum rules out the cheapest VPS tiers
- - IP reputation and deliverability are entirely self-managed on the free tier
- - Community-only support with no SLA behind the open-source software
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