Purelymail vs mailcow
Purelymail wins on privacy, Purelymail wins on price and Purelymail wins on features. Every fact below was checked on or before 25 October 2026.
Should you pick Purelymail or mailcow?
- mailcow suits you best if you want a free plan before you pay anything; your diary and address book in one place with your email; and apps whose code is public.
| Feature | Purelymail | mailcow |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 2.5 | Not rated |
| Privacy | 0.5 | Not rated |
| Price | 5.0 | Not rated |
| Features | 3.5 | Not rated |
| Cheapest plan | Simple $10 a year, any number of users and domains | Open source Free |
| Free plan | No | Yes, open source |
| Storage | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Your own domain | ✓ Unlimited | ✓ Yes |
| End-to-end encryption | No | No |
| Company based in | United States | Germany |
| Your data is kept in | United States | Your own server |
| Founded | Unknown | Unknown |
| Free trial | Free trial with a small amount of credit (about a month of light use) | Free to download |
| Funded by advertising | No | No |
| Works in any mail app | ✓ IMAP and SMTP | ✓ IMAP and SMTP |
| Calendar and contacts | No | ✓ Yes |
| Aliases | Yes | Yes |
| Open-source apps | No | ✓ Yes |
| Sign up without ID | No | No |
| White label | Unknown | Unknown |
| Reader offer | None | None |
| Last checked | 25 October 2026 | 25 October 2026 |
Want to add another? Open this in the compare tool.
The key differences
- Cheapest plans: Purelymail Simple, $10 a year, any number of users and domains. mailcow Open source, Free.
- For free, Purelymail gives you no free plan, and mailcow a free plan (open source).
- Purelymail keeps your mail in the United States, while mailcow keeps it in Your own server.
- Purelymail is based in the United States and mailcow in Germany, so different privacy laws apply.
Common questions
Do Purelymail and mailcow work with my own domain?
Yes, both do. Purelymail: Unlimited. mailcow: Yes.
Where do Purelymail and mailcow keep my email?
Purelymail keeps it in the United States. mailcow keeps it in Your own server.
Prices and the latest news
No price changes for either since 25 October 2026. I check regularly and add any change here with its date.
The latest headlines: Purelymail news · mailcow news.
Also worth a look
Purelymail vs Posteo · mailcow vs Posteo · Purelymail vs mailbox.org · mailcow vs mailbox.org · Purelymail vs Proton Mail · mailcow vs Proton Mail
Moving your email
Whichever you choose, the move follows the same steps. Pick your two providers for the steps.