Haraka
Fast, highly extensible, and event driven SMTP server.
Haraka vs OpenSMTPD
Two self-hosted Communication - Email - Mail Transfer Agents apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Haraka | OpenSMTPD | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Fast, highly extensible, and event driven SMTP server. | Secure SMTP server implementation from the OpenBSD project. |
| GitHub stars | 5,633 | 586 |
| Forks | – | – |
| Open issues | – | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 94 | 63 |
| Last activity | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Latest release | v3.3.5 (2026-10-17) | 7.9.0p0 (2026-09-13) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | MIT | ISC |
| Language / platform | Nodejs | C, deb |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU | ~512 MB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $5/mo | $3.5/mo |
| Categories | Communication - Email - Mail Transfer Agents | Communication - Email - Mail Transfer Agents |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- Haraka is more popular on GitHub: 5.6k stars vs 586 for OpenSMTPD.
- Haraka had more commits in the last 12 months (94 vs 63).
- Haraka published a release more recently (v3.3.5 on 2026-10-17; OpenSMTPD's latest is 7.9.0p0 on 2026-09-13).
- Haraka is licensed under MIT, OpenSMTPD under ISC.
- Haraka is written in Nodejs; OpenSMTPD in C.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Haraka: none listed; OpenSMTPD: deb.
- Our rough hardware estimate is lighter for OpenSMTPD (~512 MB server) than Haraka (~1 GB); this is an estimate from the stack and category, not a benchmark.
Summary: Haraka leads on GitHub popularity and 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 Haraka or OpenSMTPD more popular?
Haraka has more GitHub stars (5,633 vs 586 for OpenSMTPD, as of 2026-11-05). Stars measure interest, not quality.
Which is more actively maintained, Haraka or OpenSMTPD?
Haraka had more commits over the last 12 months (94 vs 63). Both had repository activity on 2026-11-03. Our health labels: Haraka is “Active”, OpenSMTPD is “Active”.
What licenses do Haraka and OpenSMTPD use?
Haraka: MIT. OpenSMTPD: ISC.
Can I run Haraka and OpenSMTPD with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
OpenSMTPD
Secure SMTP server implementation from the OpenBSD project.
Browse all self-hosted Communication - Email - Mail Transfer Agents apps.