Mailcow vs MXRoute
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Mailcow and MXRoute.
Quick Verdict
4.1/5
Mailcow
0 reviews
4.0/5
MXRoute
0 reviews
Mailcow is rated higher (4.1 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. MXRoute provides private email hosting for custom domains at very affordable lifetime pricing. Run email for your domains without using Google Workspace. Popular in budget hosting communities.
Mailcow Self-hosted email server with Docker | MXRoute Affordable custom domain email hosting | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.1 (0 reviews)✓ | 4.0 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | free | paid |
| Starting price | Free✓ | From $59/mo |
| Best for | 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 | Freelancers, agencies, small businesses, and multi-domain users who want professional custom-domain email without per-seat suite pricing. |
| 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 tieropen sourceself hostable | eu datacenterus datacenter |
| Visit Mailcow → | Visit MXRoute → | |
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
MXRoute
Pros
- + No per-seat fees: unlimited domains and unlimited email accounts on every plan, priced by pooled storage
- + Radically cheaper than per-seat suites — $69/year covers a ten-person team on Medium
- + Honest operator culture: explicit lifetime-plan terms, public status page, operator blog, real documentation
- + Standards-complete mail: SMTP/IMAP/POP3, sieve, aliases, plus addressing, custom SpamAssassin rules, own webmail
- + Deliverability ownership: failed sends caused by their IP reputation are resent by them
Cons
- - No SLA and ticket-based support; the 1-hour response tier costs $2,000/month
- - Storage is pooled across all accounts on a plan — one heavy user can fill everyone's quota
- - 400 emails/hour per account cap and a marketing-email policy: not a bulk sending platform
- - Small, bootstrapped operator (two founders since 2013) — continuity and capacity are trust questions
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