Cyrus IMAP
Email (IMAP/POP3), contacts and calendar server.
Cyrus IMAP vs DavMail
Two self-hosted Communication - Email - Mail Delivery Agents apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Cyrus IMAP | DavMail | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Email (IMAP/POP3), contacts and calendar server. | POP/IMAP/SMTP/Caldav/Carddav/LDAP exchange gateway allowing users to use any mail/calendar client with an Exchange server, even from the internet or behind a firewall through Outlook Web Access. |
| GitHub stars | 653 | 773 |
| Forks | – | – |
| Open issues | – | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 2.8k | 637 |
| Last activity | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-02 |
| Latest release | cyrus-imapd-3.8.8 (2026-09-09) | – |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | BSD-3-Clause-Attribution | GPL-2.0 |
| Language / platform | C | Java |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~512 MB, 1 vCPU | ~2 GB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $3.5/mo | $10/mo |
| Categories | Communication - Email - Mail Delivery Agents | Communication - Email - Mail Delivery Agents, Calendar & Contacts |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- Cyrus IMAP and DavMail have a similar number of GitHub stars (653 vs 773).
- Cyrus IMAP had more commits in the last 12 months (2,821 vs 637).
- Cyrus IMAP publishes GitHub releases (latest cyrus-imapd-3.8.8); no GitHub release was found for DavMail.
- Cyrus IMAP is licensed under BSD-3-Clause-Attribution, DavMail under GPL-2.0. Cyrus IMAP's license is permissive; DavMail's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
- Cyrus IMAP is written in C; DavMail in Java.
- Our rough hardware estimate is lighter for Cyrus IMAP (~512 MB server) than DavMail (~2 GB); this is an estimate from the stack and category, not a benchmark.
Summary: Cyrus IMAP leads on commit activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cyrus IMAP or DavMail more popular?
They are close: Cyrus IMAP has 653 GitHub stars and DavMail has 773 (as of 2026-11-05).
Which is more actively maintained, Cyrus IMAP or DavMail?
Cyrus IMAP had more commits over the last 12 months (2,821 vs 637). The last recorded activity was 2026-11-04 for Cyrus IMAP and 2026-11-02 for DavMail. Our health labels: Cyrus IMAP is “Active”, DavMail is “Active”.
What licenses do Cyrus IMAP and DavMail use?
Cyrus IMAP: BSD-3-Clause-Attribution. DavMail: GPL-2.0. Cyrus IMAP's license is permissive; DavMail's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
Can I run Cyrus IMAP and DavMail with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
DavMail
POP/IMAP/SMTP/Caldav/Carddav/LDAP exchange gateway allowing users to use any mail/calendar client with an Exchange server, even from the internet or behind a firewall through Outlook Web Access.
Browse all self-hosted Communication - Email - Mail Delivery Agents apps.