Instead of Gmail

Webmail with search, labels and excellent spam filtering.

Worth the work

Running a mail server is the one item here that can ruin a week. Stalwart and Mailcow both work; deliverability is the part nothing on your server fixes.

You lose: Spam filtering that has seen the whole internet, and the certainty that your mail lands.

Start here

Stalwart

AGPL-3.0a weekendactive

One binary, IMAP, JMAP, CalDAV and CardDAV. You still need a clean IP and SPF, DKIM and DMARC.

github.com/stalwartlabs/stalwart stalw.art

A database, object storage or mail config, plus backups.

Also worth a look

MailcowGPL-3.0a weekendactive
The full stack, including spam filtering. Docker compose with a lot of containers.
github.com/mailcow/mailcow-dockerized mailcow.email
MailuMITa weekendactive
Simpler than Mailcow, fewer moving parts, smaller community.
github.com/Mailu/Mailu mailu.io

What the desk has written

Facts checked 8 November 2026. Licences, activity and archive status come from each project's own repository; the verdict and the cost lines are the desk's.