Dovecot

The secure, high performance email server

About Dovecot

Dovecot is an open-source IMAP and POP3 email server designed with security as a primary concern. Its Community Edition powers a large share of the world's mail servers, offering standards compliance, strong performance, easy migration, and self-healing storage. A commercial Pro edition extends the core into a supported, high-availability platform for demanding service providers and large mail operators.

Dovecot website preview

Live preview of dovecot.org via the WordPress mShots service — it can take a few seconds to generate on a first visit.

Dovecot: strengths & things to check

Strengths

Free tier available — you can start without paying (freemium model).
Covers email, imap, mail server, self hosted, open source — see the focus areas listed in its key facts.
Has 6 close alternatives in the same category on this page, so switching or comparing is easy.

Things to check

The full feature set sits behind a paid plan — check which limits the free tier carries on the official site before committing.
Current plan prices are not listed here (they change too often to print reliably) — confirm the exact price on the official site.
It is one of 565 tools in the Communication & Collaboration category here — compare it against the alternatives below before you commit.

Derived from this listing's own data (pricing model, focus areas and category) — not a hands-on review score.

Dovecot pricing

Pricing model	Freemium — a free tier lets you start, and paid plans are available if you need more.
Free access	Yes — free tier, paid upgrades available
Current plan prices	Listed on the official site — prices change, so this directory links out instead of printing a number that may already be stale.
Official site	dovecot.org

Dovecot key facts

Category: Communication & Collaboration
Pricing: Freemium — a free tier lets you start, and paid plans are available if you need more.
Focus areas: email, imap, mail server, self hosted, open source
Official site: dovecot.org

Dovecot FAQ

How much does Dovecot cost?

Freemium — a free tier lets you start, and paid plans are available if you need more. Current plans and prices are listed on the official site (dovecot.org).

What is Dovecot used for?

The secure, high performance email server Its focus areas in the Communication & Collaboration category: email, imap, mail server, self hosted, open source.

Where can I try Dovecot?

On its official site, dovecot.org — the Visit Official Site button above goes straight there.

Dovecot vs alternatives

	Dovecot	iRedMail	mailcow: dockerized	Mox
Pricing	Freemium — a free tier lets you start, and paid plans are available if you need more.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.
Focus areas	email, imap, mail server, self hosted, open source	mail server, email, self hosted, open source	email, mail server, self hosted, open source, docker	mail server, self hosted, open source, email
Official site	dovecot.org	iredmail.org	mailcow.email	xmox.nl
Directory status	Listed	Listed	Listed	Listed

Side-by-side from each listing's own directory data. Full alternative cards are below.

About the Communication & Collaboration category

Chat, video meetings, and messaging apps that keep teams connected. The Communication & Collaboration category on Tools Hub currently lists 565 tools. Alongside Dovecot, it includes EmailRelay, Postfix, Postorius, Cypht.

FreemiumCommunication & Collaborationemailimapmail-serverself-hostedopen-source

Alternatives to Dovecot

Tools in the same Communication & Collaboration category that share focus areas with Dovecot — worth comparing before you commit:

Communication & Collaboration

iRedMail

Full-featured open-source mail server solution based on Postfix and Dovecot

Freemail-serveremailself-hostedopen-source

Communication & Collaboration

mailcow: dockerized

The mailserver suite with the 'moo'

Freeemailmail-serverself-hostedopen-source

Communication & Collaboration

Mox

Modern, secure, all-in-one open-source mail server

Freemail-serverself-hostedopen-sourceemail

Communication & Collaboration

Postfix

Fast, easy to administer, and secure mail server

Freeemailsmtpmail-serverself-hosted

Communication & Collaboration

Courier Mail Server

Integrated mail and groupware server based on open protocols

Freemail-serversmtpimapself-hosted

Communication & Collaboration

Cyrus IMAP

A free, open-source email, contacts and calendar server

Freeemailimapmail-serverjmap

More in Communication & Collaboration

Comparing tools in the Communication & Collaboration category? These related listings are worth a look: EmailRelay — Lightweight SMTP store-and-forward mail server with POP access; Postfix — Fast, easy to administer, and secure mail server; Postorius — Web user interface for GNU Mailman mailing lists.