mailcow alternatives
Providers that compete with mailcow on at least one of: Self-hosted
Dockerized groupware and email server suite.
Switching as SaaS product teams
A SaaS product sends on behalf of its customers, so the deciding factors are tenant isolation, whether suppressions can be scoped rather than global, and whether support can answer why one specific account did not receive one specific email. Lifecycle automation and transactional sending usually need to coexist.
mailcow does not cover scheduling and webhook coverage. Novu, Postal, and Listmonk close that gap. The order below weighs this audience's priorities first, so it differs from a general popularity ranking.
ranked for SaaS product teams
- 01
Novu
Notifications Self-hostedOpen-source notification infrastructure.
Adds scheduling and webhook coverage over mailcow, with nothing given up on these priorities.
30,000 events/mo on cloud, free self-hosted · $250/mo (Business cloud) - 02
Postal
Self-hosted TransactionalOpen-source mail delivery platform.
Adds webhook coverage over mailcow, with nothing given up on these priorities.
Free, self-hosted · Self-hosted only - 03
Cuttlefish
Self-hosted TransactionalOpen-source transactional email server with a web UI.
Matches mailcow on every priority weighed here, so the decision is price and preference.
Free self-hosted, open source · Free self-hosted - 04
Listmonk
Newsletter Self-hostedSelf-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager.
Adds scheduling and webhook coverage, gives up multi-tenant support.
Free, self-hosted · Self-hosted only - 05
Plunk
Self-hosted MarketingOpen-source unified email platform.
Adds scheduling and webhook coverage, gives up multi-tenant support.
3,000/mo on hosted free plan · $19/mo or self-host - 06
Ghost
Newsletter Self-hostedOpen-source publishing with built-in memberships and email.
Adds scheduling and webhook coverage, gives up multi-tenant support and event stream.
Self-hosted is free (your infra cost) · Ghost Pro from $9/mo - 07
maddy
Self-hostedComposable all-in-one mail server.
Gives up event stream and the suppressions API against mailcow and adds nothing on these priorities.
Free self-hosted, GPL-3.0 · Free self-hosted
mailcow and its alternatives, side by side
Columns are the priorities SaaS product teams weigh, in order. mailcow is the first row so the trade in each direction is readable at a glance.
| Provider | Multi-tenant | Event stream | Suppressions API | Operating since | Scheduling | Best published rate per 1,000 | Webhooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mailcow | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not published | No | Tiers not published in comparable form | No |
| Novu | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2021 | Yes | Tiers not published in comparable form | Yes |
| Postal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not published | No | Tiers not published in comparable form | Yes |
| Cuttlefish | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not published | No | Tiers not published in comparable form | No |
| Listmonk | No | Yes | Yes | Not published | Yes | Tiers not published in comparable form | Yes |
| Plunk | No | Yes | Yes | Not published | Yes | Tiers not published in comparable form | Yes |
| Ghost | No | No | Yes | 2013 | Yes | Tiers not published in comparable form | Yes |
| maddy | Yes | No | No | Not published | No | Tiers not published in comparable form | No |
Novu and Postal add capability without giving anything up on these priorities. The rest trade one thing for another.