Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Mailbird

Roundcube is a browser-based, multilingual IMAP webmail client with an application-like user interface. It provides core email client capabilities through the browser and can be extended and themed via a plugin API and skins.

Key Features

• IMAP client functionality with MIME support
• Address book and contact management
• Folder management and message search
• Spell checking
• Plugin API for extending functionality
• Customizable interface with skins/themes
• Supports multiple database backends for application data storage

Use Cases

• Provide webmail access for an organization’s IMAP mailboxes
• Offer a lightweight browser email client for shared hosting or ISPs
• Deploy a customizable webmail front-end integrated with existing mail infrastructure

Limitations and Considerations

• Requires an existing IMAP server; it is not a full mail server (SMTP/IMAP stack)
• The Git repository snapshot may not correspond to a stable release

Roundcube is a mature webmail interface that fits well when you already operate an IMAP-capable mail system and need a user-friendly, extensible web client. Its plugin ecosystem and skinning support make it adaptable to different environments and branding needs.

SnappyMail is a simple, modern, and lightweight web-based email client. It is a heavily upgraded and security-focused fork of the RainLoop Webmail Community edition, designed for fast UI performance and easy deployment without requiring a database.

Key Features

• IMAP webmail with a responsive, modern interface and dark mode
• Privacy/GDPR-oriented defaults (removes common third-party integrations and tracking-related features)
• Admin panel for server configuration, domains, and security settings
• Optional address book support (can use MySQL/MariaDB for contacts)
• Sieve script support with an advanced editor for server-side mail filtering rules
• Improved encryption capabilities, including stronger PGP support (supports modern key types)
• Security hardening measures such as syslog logging for auth failures and guidance for fail2ban
• Plugin system, including the ability to load plugins as PHAR packages

Use Cases

• Provide webmail access for a self-hosted or managed IMAP email server
• Offer fast, low-overhead webmail for organizations that want privacy-friendly defaults
• Manage mail filtering rules via Sieve without needing a desktop client

Limitations and Considerations

• POP3 support is removed; IMAP is the primary protocol
• Browser support excludes legacy browsers (for example, Internet Explorer and legacy Edge)

SnappyMail fits well when you need a performant, minimal webmail interface with modern security improvements over the original RainLoop codebase. It is particularly suitable for IMAP-centric setups and users who want a streamlined, privacy-conscious webmail experience.

Nextcloud Mail is the official webmail application for Nextcloud, providing a modern browser-based email client that connects to standard IMAP/SMTP mailboxes. It integrates tightly with other Nextcloud apps to unify email with your personal and team workflows.

Key Features

• Connect multiple IMAP accounts with a unified inbox
• Send mail via SMTP and manage folders/mailboxes (create, rename, delete, subfolders)
• Conversation/thread view for grouped messages
• Integration with Nextcloud apps such as Contacts, Calendar, Files, and Tasks
• Message composition with rich-text editor support
• Optional encryption features including S/MIME support; can also work with browser-based encryption extensions

Use Cases

• Use Nextcloud as a centralized webmail client for personal and work accounts
• Manage email alongside calendars, contacts, files, and tasks in one interface
• Provide a consistent webmail experience for organizations using existing IMAP/SMTP servers

Nextcloud Mail is a strong choice when you want a capable webmail client inside the Nextcloud ecosystem while continuing to use your existing mail server infrastructure.

b1gMail is a web-based email and collaboration suite designed to let organizations run their own hosted email services. It provides webmail, groupware features and an administration control panel for managing users, domains and server integrations.

(b1gmail.eu)

Key Features

• Full-featured webmail interface with HTML5 features (drag & drop for emails and attachments) and modern UI components.
• Groupware: address book, calendar, tasks/todo lists, notes and a cloud drive integrated into the web UI.
• Administration Control Panel (ACP) for multi-tenant administration, user/group management and setup wizards.
• Extensible plugin system allowing installation of additional features via plugins without modifying core code.
• Spam and virus protection including DNS blacklist filtering, a trainable Bayesian spam filter and ClamAV integration for virus scanning.

(b1gmail.eu)

Use Cases

• Hosting providers or organizations that want to offer branded hosted email and groupware to customers or internal users.
• Small-to-medium organizations needing an integrated webmail, calendar and file drive solution with centralized admin controls.
• Service operators who want an extendable webmail portal with plugin support and configurable filtering/antivirus pipelines.

Limitations and Considerations

• Server requirements and compatibility: recent releases document minimum PHP and database requirements (PHP version constraints and recommended MariaDB; MySQL 8.x has known compatibility issues). Plan platform versions accordingly when deploying or upgrading.
• Third-party components: the product historically uses CKEditor in its web UI (CKEditor 4 was noted as EOL for older releases), and some legacy commercial plugins may be incompatible with newer OSS releases.
• Repository access note: attempts to fetch the Codeberg repository at the provided URL were blocked by robots.txt; documentation and release notes are available on the official site and support pages, and the b1gMailServer add-on has a referenced GitHub mirror for its server component.

(b1gmail.eu)

b1gMail is geared toward operators who need an integrated webmail and groupware portal with administrative controls and extensibility. It is a mature product with documented installation guides, admin manuals and plugin development guidance for deploying and customizing hosted email services.

(b1gmail.eu)