Self-hosted email
Open-source platforms that run on your own infrastructure. Trade operational ownership for independence from a vendor and the ability to keep all data in your environment.
Open-source email servers and platforms that run on your own infrastructure.
8 Best Self-Hosted Email Tools (2026), Tested
Open-source platforms you can run on your own infrastructure.
Full ranking →- 01
Postal
Self-hosted TransactionalMost mature open-source SMTP-server replacement.
- 02
mailcow
Self-hostedFull Dockerized mail and groupware suite with admin UI, Postfix, Dovecot, Rspamd, and SOGo.
- 03
maddy
Self-hostedCompact all-in-one mail server with SMTP, MX receipt, IMAP, DKIM, SPF, DMARC, DANE, and MTA-STS.
- 04
Plunk
Self-hosted MarketingUnified marketing plus transactional in a single AGPL app.
- 05
Listmonk
Newsletter Self-hostedSingle-binary newsletter manager. Bring your own SMTP.
12 Best Open-Source Email Tools (2026), Tested
A reference stack for teams that want to own every layer.
Full ranking →- 01
Postal
Self-hosted TransactionalOutbound and inbound delivery server.
- 02
mailcow
Self-hostedFull self-hosted mail and groupware suite with a strong admin UI.
- 03
maddy
Self-hostedCompact all-in-one SMTP, MX, IMAP, and authentication stack.
- 04
Listmonk
Newsletter Self-hostedNewsletter manager and broadcast.
- 05
Novu
Notifications Self-hostedNotification orchestration across channels.
Directory (8)
Ghost
Open-source publishing with built-in memberships and email.
Listmonk
Self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager.
Postal
Open-source mail delivery platform.
Plunk
Open-source unified email platform.
Novu
Open-source notification infrastructure.
maddy
Composable all-in-one mail server.
mailcow
Dockerized groupware and email server suite.
Cuttlefish
Open-source transactional email server with a web UI.
reading this as growth and lifecycle teams
Growth work lives or dies on targeting and measurement. What matters is whether behavioral triggers can be built without engineering time, whether the event stream supports attribution past the open, and whether deliverability holds when broadcast volume shares a reputation with product email.
Applied to self-hosted email, that means weighing scheduling, event stream, deliverability, and operating track record ahead of the rest, against behavior-triggered journeys, broadcasts, and winback campaigns measured on revenue.