Mailcow-dockerized vs Proton Mail
Mailcow-dockerized and Proton Mail are both email server software. Mailcow-dockerized is open source under GPL-3.0, with 14k GitHub stars. Proton Mail is a commercial product from Proton AG.
Which to pick
- Pick Mailcow-dockerized when
- You want to host email for several domains yourself with a full admin interface.
- Pick Proton Mail when
- Privacy is your first concern and you want encrypted email, especially between Proton users.
Side by side
A Docker Compose mail server suite with Postfix, Dovecot, Rspamd, SOGo webmail and groupware, and an admin UI for domains and mailboxes.
End-to-end encrypted email from Switzerland, bundled with Proton's calendar, drive, VPN and password manager.
Running your own mail means handling deliverability, IP reputation and security updates yourself.
Desktop email clients need the paid Bridge app, and encryption limits server-side search and integrations.
Production-ready (both)
Self-hosted server
Cloud service, desktop app and mobile app
Docker, Postfix, Dovecot, Rspamd, PHP and MariaDB
Not published
Open source, GPL-3.0 (strong copyleft)
Closed source, sold by Proton AG
Use inside your business is unrestricted, but anything you distribute that includes it must be released under the same license.
Closed source: you use it under the maker's terms and cannot change or resell the code.
14k GitHub stars
12k Wikipedia readers a month on phones
Established: started 10 years ago, latest release 2026-10.
Not known
Other comparisons
More email servers and webmail
Both sides were judged on 2026-11-03 from makers' descriptions, Wikipedia, READMEs and GitHub data. License, age and popularity lines are worked out directly.