Dovecot is a secure, open-source IMAP/POP3 mail server. See 2026 features, the free Community Edition vs. commercial Pro Edition, and how it compares.
Category
Communication
Pricing
Open Source / Custom (Pro Edition), from Free (Community Edition); Pro Edition custom-quoted
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 18, 2026
Founded
2002
Open SourceFreemiumSelf-Hosted
Overview
Dovecot is a security-focused, open-source mail server implementing the IMAP and POP3 protocols for Unix-like systems. It handles mailbox storage and retrieval, and is typically paired with a separate mail transfer agent like Postfix for sending and routing mail.
Originated by Finnish developer Timo Sirainen with a first release in July 2002, Dovecot grew into one of the most widely deployed open-source IMAP servers in the world, with its commercial direction now stewarded by Open-Xchange through the Dovecot Pro product.
Key Features
Dovecot implements IMAP, POP3, LMTP for local delivery, and ManageSieve for remote mail-filtering rule management, with support for authentication mechanisms like CRAM-MD5 and DIGEST-MD5.
Full-text search is available through Solr integration or the newer built-in fts_flatcurve plugin (Dovecot 2.4+), and the platform is known for self-optimizing indexes and self-healing recovery from data corruption.
Pricing
The Community Edition is completely free and open source, designed for single-server deployments. Dovecot Pro, sold by Open-Xchange for larger-scale and enterprise deployments, is priced per mailbox with volume-based discounts and is custom-quoted rather than listed publicly.
Key Features
IMAP and POP3 protocol support — Implements RFC-standard IMAP and POP3 for reliable, standards-compliant mailbox access across mail clients.
LMTP local delivery — Supports the Local Mail Transfer Protocol for efficient handoff of mail from an MTA into user mailboxes.
ManageSieve and Sieve filtering — Lets users define and remotely manage server-side rules for sorting, forwarding, or discarding mail.
Self-optimizing indexes — Automatically maintains efficient mailbox indexes to keep large mailboxes fast to search and browse.
Self-healing data integrity — Includes mechanisms to detect and recover from mailbox data corruption without manual intervention.
Full-text search plugins — Supports Apache Solr integration or the newer built-in Xapian-based fts_flatcurve plugin for fast mailbox search.
Flexible authentication — Supports multiple authentication schemes including CRAM-MD5, DIGEST-MD5, and Lua-scripted authentication logic.
Dovecot Pro clustering — The commercial Pro Edition adds a cloud-native, stateless clustering architecture for high availability at carrier scale.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Free, mature, and extremely widely deployed open-source mail server with a strong security track record.
Publicly audited codebase, including a 2017 Mozilla-funded third-party security review.
Scales from a single free self-hosted server up to a fully supported commercial product without changing software.
Standards-compliant implementation with broad mail client compatibility.
Cons
Requires a separate mail transfer agent (such as Postfix) to form a complete email system, adding setup complexity.
Dovecot Pro pricing is not publicly listed and requires contacting Open-Xchange for a quote.
Community Edition is designed for single-server use, so scaling requires either manual clustering or upgrading to Pro.
Administration is command-line and configuration-file driven, with a learning curve for those unfamiliar with Unix mail systems.
Pricing
Community Edition Free N/A
Dovecot Pro Custom (priced per mailbox) Annual contract
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dovecot free?
Yes, the Dovecot Community Edition is free and open source. Open-Xchange also sells a commercially supported Pro Edition priced per mailbox for larger-scale deployments.
Who created Dovecot?
Dovecot was created by Finnish developer Timo Sirainen, who released the first version in July 2002.
What is the difference between Dovecot and Postfix?
Dovecot handles IMAP/POP3 mailbox storage and retrieval for end users, while Postfix is a mail transfer agent that sends and routes mail between servers; the two are typically deployed together to form a complete email system.
How much does Dovecot Pro cost?
Dovecot Pro pricing is not published publicly; Open-Xchange prices it based on the number of mailboxes under management, with lower per-mailbox costs at higher volumes, and requires a custom quote.
Has Dovecot been security audited?
Yes. In 2017, the Mozilla Open Source Support program funded the first public third-party security audit of the Dovecot codebase.
What operating systems does Dovecot run on?
Dovecot runs on Unix-like operating systems, including Linux and BSD variants.