Comparison · facts checked 2026-09

SuperMailOS vs Mailflare

Fully hosted email, not a Cloudflare app you run yourself.Mailflare is a real, open-source inbox — but you self-host it, deploying it into your own Cloudflare account (Workers, D1 and R2). It works in the browser only: no IMAP/SMTP, no 2FA, no deliverability tooling, and sending needs a paid Cloudflare Workers plan. SuperMailOS runs the mail server, the sending IPs and the deliverability for you — you just bring a domain.

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The short answer

Choose Mailflare ifYou want a free, open-source inbox on infrastructure you own, and you're happy to deploy and maintain it yourself.

Choose SuperMailOS ifYou want hosted mailboxes with IMAP/SMTP, threading, 2FA and deliverability handled — and nothing to operate.

Mailflare details from public sources, 2026-09. Where they win comes first.

01 Side by side

Mailflare and SuperMailOS, row by row.

An honest, current comparison. Where we're unsure of a competitor detail, we describe what SuperMailOS does rather than assert theirs.

Feature and price comparison: Mailflare versus SuperMailOS.
Feature	Mailflare	SuperMailOS
Product model	MailflareOpen-source inbox you self-host in your own Cloudflare account (Workers/D1/R2 + Email Routing)	SuperMailOSFully hosted mailboxes — we run the mail server, you bring a domain
Hosting & upkeep	MailflarePartlyYou deploy, update and secure the app + its Cloudflare setup	SuperMailOSYesNothing to host — we operate the server and sending IPs
IMAP & SMTP (mail apps)	MailflareNoWeb only — no IMAP/SMTP (open issue)	SuperMailOSYesIMAP 993 (SSL) & SMTP 465 (SSL), every plan
Conversation threading	MailflareNoFlat message list, no threads	SuperMailOSYesThreaded conversations with quote folding
Managed deliverability	MailflareNoNo DMARC dashboard, warm-up or IP-reputation monitoring	SuperMailOSYesDKIM signing, DMARC parsed to a dashboard, warm-up, IP watch
Two-factor auth	MailflareNoNot built in	SuperMailOSYesTOTP 2FA + session management
Sending & replying	MailflarePartlyRequires a Cloudflare Workers paid plan (~$5/mo)	SuperMailOSYesSend and reply as any address, included
Where your mail lives	MailflareIn your own Cloudflare account (D1 + R2) — full data ownership	SuperMailOSOn our managed infrastructure; export any time
Price	MailflareFree & open-source; Cloudflare Workers Paid ~$5/mo to send	SuperMailOSPro $4/mo per mailbox ($3 annual) · Business $6/mo ($5 annual) · 14-day trial

Included With caveats Not includedMailflare details compiled from public sources as of 2026-09 and may have changed since. SuperMailOS details reflect current plans.

02 Honestly

Where Mailflare is the better choice.

If any of these describe you, Mailflare is probably the right call — and that's fine.

Free and open-source

The app is open-source and free to run; the only hard cost is Cloudflare's ~$5/mo Workers plan to send. If your budget is near zero, that's hard to beat.

Your mail stays in your account

Everything lives in your own Cloudflare D1 and R2 — full data ownership and sovereignty, which some teams prefer on principle.

No per-mailbox fee

Because you host it, there's no per-seat pricing — you run as many mailboxes as your own Cloudflare usage allows.

And where SuperMailOS is

Nothing to self-host

No app to deploy, patch or keep alive, and no Cloudflare Workers plan gating whether you can send. You bring a domain; we run the mail server and the sending IPs.

Works in every mail app

IMAP (993) and SMTP (465) on every plan, so Apple Mail, Outlook and the phone mail apps just work. Mailflare is web-only today.

Deliverability is operated

DKIM signing, SPF and DMARC from the mail server's own zone, DMARC reports parsed into a dashboard, new-domain warm-up and IP-reputation monitoring — none of which Mailflare provides.

Threaded inbox + 2FA

Real conversation threading, TOTP two-factor and session management — Mailflare has a flat message list and no built-in 2FA.

Which one fits you

If you want a free, open-source inbox that lives entirely on infrastructure you own, and you’re happy to deploy and maintain it on Cloudflare without IMAP/SMTP or deliverability tooling, Mailflare is a genuinely nice project. If you want hosted mailboxes across one or many domains — with IMAP/SMTP, threading, 2FA and deliverability handled for you, and nothing to operate — that’s what SuperMailOS is built for.

SuperMailOS is hosted business email: we run the mail server, the sending IPs and the deliverability work, so there's nothing to self-host and no server to keep alive.

Still comparing? Ask your AI — we've written the question.

ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗Grok ↗Google AI Mode ↗

03 Switching

Switch in an afternoon. Keep your domain.

Your domain stays where you bought it. Nothing to install, and your old mail can come with you.

Point your domain

One click on Cloudflare, DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, Hetzner DNS and Spaceship. Anywhere else, we show you exactly what to paste.

Create your addresses

A mailbox for each person, and free aliases for everything else — hello@, billing@, support@.

Keep your apps

Use the web app, or Apple Mail, Outlook and Thunderbird over IMAP. An iPhone app is coming soon.

04 Questions

Questions people ask.

Something else? Write to us — a real person answers, usually the same day.

Talk to us

Is Mailflare just alias forwarding?+

No — that's a common mix-up with similarly named alias tools. As of 2026-09, Mailflare (mailflare.co) is a full, open-source inbox: it sends, receives and stores mail in your own Cloudflare account (D1 + R2). The difference from SuperMailOS is that you self-host Mailflare and it's web-only, whereas SuperMailOS is hosted for you with IMAP/SMTP and managed deliverability.

Do I need a paid Cloudflare plan to send with Mailflare?+

Yes. Sending goes through a Cloudflare Email Worker, which requires the Workers Paid plan (about $5/month as of 2026-09); receiving is free. With SuperMailOS, sending and replying as any address is included in every plan.

Can I use Apple Mail or Outlook?+

With SuperMailOS, yes — IMAP (993, SSL) and SMTP (465, SSL) are on every plan, using per-mailbox app passwords. As of 2026-09 Mailflare is web-only and does not offer IMAP/SMTP.

Who handles SPF, DKIM and DMARC?+

SuperMailOS does. We sign DKIM on every message, publish SPF and DMARC from the mail server's own zone, parse DMARC reports into a dashboard, and warm up new domains. Mailflare leaves deliverability to you.

Bring every domain home.

Try it free for 14 days. No card, and your domain stays yours.

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