Mailcow vs Loops
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Mailcow and Loops.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
Mailcow
391 reviews
4.9/5
Loops
240 reviews
Loops is rated higher (4.9 vs 4.0). 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 is an SMTP relay service that handles transactional emails with high deliverability. Designed for developers and SaaS platforms needing reliable email infrastructure without managing their own servers.
Mailcow Self-hosted email server with Docker | Loops SMTP service built for transactional email at scale | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (391 reviews) | 4.9 (240 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | free | freemium |
| Starting price | Free | Free tier available |
| Best for | System administrators wanting a free, complete self-hosted email server with Docker-based deployment | SaaS teams and developers needing dependable transactional email delivery without the overhead of self-hosted SMTP infrastructure. |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tieropen sourceself hostable | free tierapi access |
| Visit Mailcow → | Visit Loops → | |
Mailcow
Pros
- + Complete mail server suite for free
- + Docker-based — easy deployment
- + Active open source community
Cons
- - Requires server management expertise
- - IP reputation management on your server
Loops
Pros
- + Send transactional emails reliably without maintaining SMTP infrastructure
- + Monitor delivery metrics and bounce rates in real-time dashboard
- + Integrate quickly via standard SMTP or REST API
- + Auto-handle bounces and manage sender reputation
- + Scale from thousands to millions of emails per month
Cons
- - Limited advanced segmentation compared to full marketing platforms
- - Smaller provider means fewer third-party integrations than competitors
- - Pricing scales linearly, less cost-effective at extremely high volumes
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