Dovecot vs Stalwart Mail Server
Dovecot
dovecot.org
Stalwart Mail Server
stalwart.emailSide by side
| Figure | Dovecot | Stalwart Mail Server |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $0.09/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 16 |
| Spec score · Email Server Software | 7.8 (#14) | 8.0 (#12) |
| Spec score · Mail Server Software | 7.8 (#20) | 8.0 (#15) |
| Deployment | The download page offers source tarballs and official pre-built Docker images. | Stalwart can run as one node or as a cluster across regions, and its site describes it as designed to scale to millions of mailboxes. |
| Protocols | The download page lists IMAP, POP3, and LMTP protocol packages. | It supports JMAP, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, CalDAV, CardDAV, and WebDAV. |
| Security | Dovecot describes a multi-process architecture that isolates tasks to limit the impact of a vulnerability in one component. | The product page lists mailbox encryption at rest with S/MIME or OpenPGP, DANE, MTA-STS, automatic ACME TLS, DKIM key rotation, access controls, rate limiting, and automatic IP banning. |
Plans
Stalwart Mail Server
- CommunityFree
- Enterprise: 25–499 mailboxes$2.40 a year
- Enterprise: 500–999 mailboxes$2.04 a year
- Enterprise: 1,000–4,999 mailboxes$1.74 a year
- Enterprise: 5,000–10,000 mailboxes$1.48 a year
- Enterprise: 10,000–49,999 mailboxes$1.25 a year
- Enterprise: 50,000–99,999 mailboxes$1.09 a year
- Enterprise: 100,000+ mailboxesPriced on request
- Community EditionFree
- Enterprise — 50,000 to 99,999 mailboxes$1.09 a year
In their own words
Stalwart Mail Server
Stalwart Mail Server has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.