Mailcow

Full self-hosted mail stack. Very fair, heavy to operate for a small NGO.

GPL-3.0 · https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/

Email

Self-hosted

Hosting: Self-hosted Reviewed

Only propose this when the organisation has mail operations skills.

  • Fair 4.7
  • Easy 2.3
  • Secure 3.7
FES Scores 9
Pillar Criterion Score Evidence
Easy Day-one UX Can non-technical staff use it without a project? 2 Admin UI exists; end users need a mail client story. Source
Easy Operate Admin burden, updates, backups and language coverage. 1 Spam, DNS, TLS and upgrades are a specialist job. Source
Easy Integrate SSO, mail/CalDAV, APIs and common NGO connectors. 4 IMAP, CalDAV, SOGo and LDAP/OIDC options. Source
Fair Lock-in / exit Can you leave with your data in open formats, at known cost? 5 Rule baseline (rubric_v1): self-host + open-source path supports exit with your data. Source
Fair Sovereignty EU legal entity, EU hosting, and exposure to extra-EU lawful access? 4 Rule baseline (rubric_v1): non-EU vendor; self-host still lets you pick EU infra — verify update/support exposure. Source
Fair Openness Open source or open standards? Are independent implementations possible? 5 Rule baseline (rubric_v1): license classified as open-source family. Source
Secure IT security Authentication, encryption, patch cadence and independent audit. 4 Security tracks how well you run it. Source
Secure User security 2FA, roles, phishing resistance and safe defaults. 3 SOGo/2FA possible; phishing depends on user training. Source
Secure Personal data GDPR fit: DPA, residency, sub-processors and Schrems II posture. 4 No SaaS processor if you host and log lawfully in the EU. Source

Indicative scores from public information — how we score.

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