Forward Email
Privacy-focused encrypted email for everyone. All-in-one alternative to Gmail + Mailchimp + Sendgrid.
- Email Servers
- JavaScript
- BUSL-1.1
- Docker
- Actively maintained
GitHub stats
- GitHub stars
- 1,681
- Forks
- 207
- Open issues
- 53
- Commits, last 12 months
- 1,392
- Last commit
- Oct 5, 2026
- Latest release
- v2.18.1Oct 4, 2026
- Created
- Dec 17, 2019
Data from the GitHub API, refreshed daily.
About Forward Email
Privacy-focused encrypted email for everyone. All-in-one alternative to Gmail + Mailchimp + Sendgrid. Forward Email is open source under the BUSL-1.1 license and written mainly in JavaScript, so you can read the code, run it on your own hardware and keep full control of your data.
The project has 1,681 stars and 207 forks on GitHub, with 1,392 commits over the last year. It ships a Docker image, which makes it a good fit for a small VPS or a home server running Docker Compose.
Topics
- forwarding
- forwarder
- free
- custom
- domain
- send
- aes256
- chacha20
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What is Forward Email?
Forward Email is a free, open-source app you can host on your own server, listed in our Email Servers category. Privacy-focused encrypted email for everyone. All-in-one alternative to Gmail + Mailchimp + Sendgrid. The source code lives at github.com/forwardemail/forwardemail.net, where it has 1,681 stars.
Is Forward Email free and open source?
Yes. Forward Email is open-source software released under the BUSL-1.1 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.
Can I run Forward Email with Docker?
Yes. Forward Email provides a Docker image, so you can run it on any Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose installed. The project README lists the image name and the environment variables to set.
What are the best alternatives to Forward Email?
Popular open-source alternatives to Forward Email include docker-mailserver, Postal and Mail-in-a-Box. Forward Email itself is a self-hosted alternative to Mailgun.
Is Forward Email actively maintained?
The most recent commit to Forward Email was on Oct 5, 2026 with 1,392 commits in the past twelve months. The latest release is v2.18.1, published Oct 4, 2026. Check the open issues on GitHub to gauge how quickly maintainers respond.