Twilio follows Cohorts with three GA control APIs for webhooks, recording and caller trust.
Mailu alternatives
The best Mailu alternatives in team communication tools, ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score.
Updated Oct 29, 2026
Looking for the best alternatives to Mailu? Sparkpulse tracks and ranks 12 alternatives in team communication tools by shipping velocity — how frequently each ships meaningful updates, verified from official changelogs. For reference, Mailu shipped 0 meaningful updates in the last 30 days and carries a velocity score of 5.0 out of 10 in 2026. The alternatives below are ranked the same way, so you're comparing real release momentum, not marketing claims.
About Mailu
Mailu ships one pinned release per issue, and most of them are Roundcube's.
The 2024.06 branch releases on demand: an issue or PR comes in, a pinned version goes out, and the changelog is one or two lines. Four of the six most recent releases are webmail-driven — three Roundcube bumps in this window alone, the latest to 1.6.18 clearing a TLS-configuration warning, an earlier one to 1.6.17 closing two CVEs. The remainder are Mailu's own code: an X-Forwarded-By header fix tied to a published advisory, sieve field escaping that repaired autoreplies and closed an injection path, and two admin-UI form flow corrections.
Velocity 5.0 · Last update 2mo ago
Top 12 alternatives to Mailu
Ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial breakdown, or pivot to a head-to-head.
Chatwoot retires Captain V1 and rebuilds its AI assistant as a structured, per-assistant behavior system.
Respond.io upgraded its AI Agents to GPT-5.6 and added TikTok Business Messaging for US accounts.
Fonoster ships four releases in a day to make linking a Twilio number a single step.
Zoho Cliq is opening its bot platform to AI coding agents through MCP tools.
FluentBooking opens bookings to AI agents via MCP, then ships workflow ergonomics
Stalwart adds full SCIM v2 provisioning and 24-language calendar support as its standards coverage extends further than most commercial mail servers.
Bandwidth ships Identity Presentation (branded calling) in beta — trust layer for enterprise outbound calling.
Slack raises the Marketplace bar back to ten installs while the agent platform consolidates.
Element 1.12.33 ships: simpler recovery keys, mandatory verification, no libolm migration.
tawk.to's widget 4.4.0 turns to keyboard and screen-reader fixes after a run of form work.
Krisp 2.83.4 brings Voice Translation into conference calls and lightens Accent Conversion.
Mailu vs alternatives — shipping velocity at a glance
Velocity score (0–10) and meaningful releases shipped in the last 30 days, from official changelogs. Higher = shipping faster.
| Product | Velocity | Sparks · 30d | Focus areas | Latest release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailu (baseline) | 5.0 | 0 | maintenance-branchroundcubecve-patching | — |
| Twilio | 7.5 | 1 | messagingaudience-segmentationvoice-trust | Twilio Cohorts for Native List Building and Bulk Messaging |
| Chatwoot | 7.5 | 0 | ai-assistantcustomer-supportwhatsapp | Captain V1 is retiring: every account moves to the new Captain |
| Respond.io | 7.5 | 0 | customer-messagingai-agentsomnichannel | — |
| Fonoster | 6.3 | 0 | programmable-voicesiptwilio | — |
| Zoho Cliq | 6.3 | 0 | zoho-suitedeveloper-platformmcp | Mix-and-match plans let each role pay for what it uses |
| FluentBooking | 6.3 | 0 | ai-agentsmcp-integrationscheduling | Introducing MCP for AI Agents – FluentBooking 2.4.0 |
| Stalwart | 6.3 | 0 | email-serverscimjmap | v0.16.20 |
| Bandwidth | 6.3 | 0 | voipcommunications-apircs | Identity Presentation – Beta |
| Slack | 6.3 | 0 | agentsmcpdeveloper-platform | Announcing Slack Code |
| Element | 5.0 | 0 | encryptionrecovery-keysdevice-verification | — |
| Tawk.to | 5.0 | 0 | live-chatcustomer-supportwidget | — |
| Krisp | 5.0 | 0 | call-center-aivoice-translationaccent-conversion | Krisp Call Center AI goes free-to-try; alerts land in Slack and Teams |
The 12 best Mailu alternatives, in depth
1. Twilio · velocity 7.5
Twilio follows Cohorts with three GA control APIs for webhooks, recording and caller trust.
Over the last 30 days Twilio shipped 1 meaningful update vs Mailu's 0, most recently “Twilio Cohorts for Native List Building and Bulk Messaging”. Its velocity score of 7.5/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, Twilio focuses on messaging, audience segmentation and voice trust.
Over the last 30 days Twilio has been shipping faster than Mailu — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
2. Chatwoot · velocity 7.5
Chatwoot retires Captain V1 and rebuilds its AI assistant as a structured, per-assistant behavior system.
Its velocity score of 7.5/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Captain V1 is retiring: every account moves to the new Captain”.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, Chatwoot focuses on ai assistant, customer support and whatsapp.
Chatwoot and Mailu have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
3. Respond.io · velocity 7.5
Respond.io upgraded its AI Agents to GPT-5.6 and added TikTok Business Messaging for US accounts.
Its velocity score of 7.5/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, Respond.io focuses on customer messaging, ai agents and omnichannel.
Respond.io and Mailu have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Respond.io trajectory → · Compare Mailu vs Respond.io →
4. Fonoster · velocity 6.3
Fonoster ships four releases in a day to make linking a Twilio number a single step.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, Fonoster focuses on programmable voice, sip and twilio.
Fonoster and Mailu have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
5. Zoho Cliq · velocity 6.3
Zoho Cliq is opening its bot platform to AI coding agents through MCP tools.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Mix-and-match plans let each role pay for what it uses”.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, Zoho Cliq focuses on zoho suite, developer platform and mcp.
Zoho Cliq and Mailu have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
6. FluentBooking · velocity 6.3
FluentBooking opens bookings to AI agents via MCP, then ships workflow ergonomics.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Introducing MCP for AI Agents – FluentBooking 2.4.0”.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, FluentBooking focuses on ai agents, mcp integration and scheduling.
FluentBooking and Mailu have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full FluentBooking trajectory → · Compare Mailu vs FluentBooking →
7. Stalwart · velocity 6.3
Stalwart adds full SCIM v2 provisioning and 24-language calendar support as its standards coverage extends further than most commercial mail servers.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “v0.16.20”.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, Stalwart focuses on email server, scim and jmap.
Stalwart and Mailu have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
8. Bandwidth · velocity 6.3
Bandwidth ships Identity Presentation (branded calling) in beta — trust layer for enterprise outbound calling.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Identity Presentation – Beta”.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, Bandwidth focuses on voip, communications api and rcs.
Bandwidth and Mailu have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
9. Slack · velocity 6.3
Slack raises the Marketplace bar back to ten installs while the agent platform consolidates.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Announcing Slack Code”.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, Slack focuses on agents, mcp and developer platform.
Slack and Mailu have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
10. Element · velocity 5.0
Element 1.12.33 ships: simpler recovery keys, mandatory verification, no libolm migration.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, Element focuses on encryption, recovery keys and device verification.
Element and Mailu have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
11. Tawk.to · velocity 5.0
Tawk.to's widget 4.4.0 turns to keyboard and screen-reader fixes after a run of form work.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, Tawk.to focuses on live chat, customer support and widget.
Tawk.to and Mailu have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
12. Krisp · velocity 5.0
Krisp 2.83.4 brings Voice Translation into conference calls and lightens Accent Conversion.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Krisp Call Center AI goes free-to-try; alerts land in Slack and Teams”.
Where Mailu leans on maintenance branch, roundcube and cve patching, Krisp focuses on call center ai, voice translation and accent conversion.
Krisp and Mailu have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best alternatives to Mailu?
The top Mailu alternatives we currently track in team communication tools are Twilio, Chatwoot, Respond.io, Fonoster, Zoho Cliq, ranked by recent ship velocity.
How is this list of Mailu alternatives ranked?
Alternatives are ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score — release cadence + 30-day spark count + sector-relative ship rate.
Can I compare Mailu directly with one of these alternatives?
Yes — every card has a "Compare with Mailu" link to a side-by-side /compare page.