Mailspring vs Roundcube
Learn how Mailspring and Roundcube differ in their key features, development activity, technology
stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these email clients is best for you.
Learn how Mailspring and Roundcube differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these email clients is best for you.
Mailspring
Last 30 days
Last commit
1 day agoRepository age
10 yearsVersion
1.26.2License
GPL-3.0Repository
mailspring
Roundcube
Last 30 days
Last commit
4 days agoRepository age
15 yearsVersion
1.7.6License
GPL-3.0Self-hosted
YesRepository
roundcubemail
Detailed Comparison
Roundcube appears to have several advantages over Mailspring, particularly in growth, maturity and features. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.
Roundcube appears to have several advantages over Mailspring, particularly in growth, maturity and features. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.
Community & Popularity
Mailspring leads in popularity with 18,013 stars vs 7,279 stars for Roundcube. The 147% higher star count indicates stronger community adoption. In terms of developer contributions, Roundcube has 1,812 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.
Growth Momentum
Roundcube is growing faster, adding 53 stars in the last 30 days (+0.7%) against adding 84 stars for Mailspring (+0.5%). Roundcube is the smaller project of the two, so it is closing the gap rather than extending a lead.
Development Activity
Both projects show recent activity, with Mailspring last updated 1 day ago and Roundcube 4 days ago.
Technology Stack
Both tools share common technology foundations, being built with JavaScript, CSS, Bash, Python, PHP. However, they differ in their additional technology choices: Mailspring uses Typescript, JSX, Objective-C, Swift, MATLAB while Roundcube leverages C, Perl.
Project Maturity
Roundcube has been in development longer, starting 15 years ago, compared to Mailspring which began 10 years ago. This 4.5-year head start suggests Roundcube may have more mature features and established processes.
Licensing
Both projects use the GPL-3.0 license, providing identical terms for usage and distribution.
Use Cases & Features
Both tools serve similar use cases in Email Clients.
Hosting & Deployment
Roundcube provides self-hosting options for complete data control and customization, while Mailspring may be primarily cloud-based or require different deployment approaches.
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