Roundcube

Email Servers

A browser-based, multilingual IMAP webmail client written in PHP that you host in front of your own mail server.

Open-source alternative to:

Gmail

Visit Roundcube GitHub Docs

GPL-3.0-or-laterSelf-hostedNot yet assessed

Screenshot of the Roundcube website — Homepage of roundcube.net

What the free edition leaves out

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We have not been able to confirm enough from official sources to give a verdict. “Not confirmed” means the official pages we read did not say, so we do not guess.

Open-core feature checklist for Roundcube
Feature	Free edition	Details	Source
SSO / SAML	Not confirmed	The site feature list mentions OAuth/XOauth login support; SAML is not mentioned.	Source ↗
Role-based access control	Not confirmed	Not mentioned on the pages read.	Source ↗
Audit logs	Not confirmed	Not mentioned on the pages read.	Source ↗
Multi-user / teams	Not confirmed	Not mentioned on the pages read.	Source ↗
Backups and restore	Not confirmed	Not mentioned on the pages read.	Source ↗
API access	Not confirmed	The README mentions a plugin API for extending it; no public data API is described.	Source ↗
Support SLA	Not confirmed	The site links a support page; no paid support or SLA is described on the pages read.	Source ↗

Best for

Admins who run their own IMAP server and want a free, customizable webmail front end for their users.

Why choose it over Gmail

The site calls it free and open source webmail, with MIME and HTML messages, an address book, folder management, search, spell checking, PGP encryption support and skins and plugins for customization. It talks to any IMAP server, so you keep your existing mail backend.

Where it falls short

It is only a webmail client: it stores no mail itself and needs a separate IMAP and SMTP server, so it does not replace the mailbox hosting that Gmail provides. The main branch of the repository is described as an unstable snapshot, so installs should use released versions. You manage PHP, the database, updates and security fixes yourself.

Open-source alternative to

Gmail — Roundcube can replace Gmail's web interface for reading and sending mail, but it only provides the webmail client and needs a separate IMAP and SMTP mail server.

Tech stack

Languages as reported by GitHub for the repository.