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Comparison · Comms
Delta Chat vs mailcow
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Delta Chat and mailcow — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Delta Chat vs mailcow: at a glance
What is Delta Chat?
Delta Chat is quietly replacing its email identity with relays
Delta Chat desktop v2.65.0 adds pinned messages, message multiselect actions and a System default language option, and hides individual reactions from channel owners. v2.62.0 changed more of the foundation: relays can be removed, the default relay setting is gone, onboarding adds several relays, and email addresses are no longer shown for profiles. Contacts are also no longer shown as verified.
What is mailcow?
mailcow's monthly releases are mostly upstream security updates with small UI work
mailcow ships named monthly releases with lettered revisions, and most exist to pull in upstream security fixes for components like SOGo, Nginx, Redis, Unbound and Rspamd. The September release also added an ACL and global switch to stop external alias forwarding, a show-password toggle on login pages, and fixes such as an auth-cache wipe during nginx outages. October moved PHP to an Alpine 3.24 base and brought SOGo 5.12.12, Nginx 1.30.6 and a UI update.
Delta Chat vs mailcow: editorial side-by-side
Delta Chat
5.0COMMS
Delta Chat is quietly replacing its email identity with relays
◆ Current state
Delta Chat desktop v2.65.0 adds pinned messages, message multiselect actions and a System default language option, and hides individual reactions from channel owners. v2.62.0 changed more of the foundation: relays can be removed, the default relay setting is gone, onboarding adds several relays, and email addresses are no longer shown for profiles. Contacts are also no longer shown as verified.
◆ Where it's heading
The project is removing email from what users see and from how they think about identity, with relays taking its place as multi-path infrastructure. Fetching from every relay and sending through the fastest one treats a relay as replaceable, which matters for a federated messenger. Around that, the client keeps closing feature gaps with mainstream messengers through pinning, channel reactions and better group notification handling.
◆ Prediction
Expect further relay management work, as the core notes show this is where the structural change is. Channels are the next most active surface, with reaction privacy already changing there.
mailcow
5.0COMMS
mailcow's monthly releases are mostly upstream security updates with small UI work
◆ Current state
mailcow ships named monthly releases with lettered revisions, and most exist to pull in upstream security fixes for components like SOGo, Nginx, Redis, Unbound and Rspamd. The September release also added an ACL and global switch to stop external alias forwarding, a show-password toggle on login pages, and fixes such as an auth-cache wipe during nginx outages. October moved PHP to an Alpine 3.24 base and brought SOGo 5.12.12, Nginx 1.30.6 and a UI update.
◆ Where it's heading
Keeping a dozen bundled upstreams current is the product, and the cadence is built around that. Feature work arrives in small admin and web UI controls alongside the security updates.
◆ Prediction
Expect a revision of the October release carrying further upstream updates, following the lettered-revision pattern.
Alternatives to Delta Chat and mailcow
Other Comms products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Delta Chat or mailcow.
Brosix
Brosix follows its communities launch with a referral push and a private-room how-to.
VerneMQ
VerneMQ follows its year-in-the-making 2.2.0 with a quick round of subscription fixes.
Session
Session survived its funding scare; now Pro is on hold and Protocol v2 is the bet.
Misskey
Misskey moves to Sentry v11 and keeps shipping security fixes in its monthly releases.
Apprise
Apprise 2 is out: notify() returns a result object, and 2.1 takes the catalog to 170 services.
See all Delta Chat alternatives → · See all mailcow alternatives →
Recent activity from Delta Chat and mailcow
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 6d agoDelta ChatPinned messages arrive; channel reactions become anonymous totals
- 12d agomailcow🎃🐮 Mooctober 2026 | Security Update: PHP 8.2.35, SOGo 5.12.12 & Nginx 1.30.6
- 27d agomailcow2026-09a: Rspamd 4.2.1 and postfix-tlspol bumps
- 29d agoDelta ChatMulti-relay onboarding; email addresses leave the profile list
- 1mo agomailcow🍂🐮 Mootember 2026 | Unbound 1.26.1, SOGo 5.12.11 & Redis 7.4.11
- 2mo agoDelta ChatFixes the 2.59.0 unread-sync bug; Arabic, Telugu, Slovenian added
- 2mo agomailcow🏖️🐮 Mooly 2026 | Postfix 3.10.12, Rspamd 4.1.0 & Nginx 1.30.3 - Revision B
- 2mo agoDelta ChatChannel post reactions and experimental Team Profiles
- 3mo agomailcow🏖️🐮 Mooly 2026 | Postfix 3.10.12, Rspamd 4.1.0 & Nginx 1.30.3 - Revision A
- 3mo agoDelta Chatv2.57.0 release preparation
- 3mo agoDelta ChatOAuth removed; group member search and command palette added
- 3mo agomailcow🏖️🐮 Mooly 2026 | Postfix 3.10.12, Rspamd 4.1.0 & Nginx 1.30.3
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Delta Chat and mailcow?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Delta Chat and mailcow are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Delta Chat better than mailcow?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Delta Chat and mailcow are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Comms products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Delta Chat?
Top Delta Chat alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Delta Chat alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/deltachat for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to mailcow?
Top mailcow alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mailcow alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mailcow for the full list with editorial commentary on each.