In the Linux community, there's a saying: "I'd rather manage 100 web servers than 1 email server." It sounds cool to "own your communication," but the reality is harsh.
Self-Hosted (Postfix/Dovecot on VPS)
Pros:
- Privacy: No Google/Microsoft scanning your data.
- Cost: Free (aside from the VPS cost). No per-user fees.
Cons:
- Deliverability Hell: This is the dealbreaker. Big providers (Gmail/Outlook) trust big providers. They effectively block or throttles traffic from unknown VPS IP ranges (like DigitalOcean or Linode). You will spend weeks fighting to get your emails out of the Spam folder.
- Maintenance: You are responsible for security patches, SSL certificates, backups, and preventing your server from becoming an open relay for spammers.
Hosted Email (Google Workspace / Microsoft 365)
Pros:
- Reliability: 99.9% uptime SLA.
- Deliverability: Emails sent from Google's servers almost always arrive.
- Security: Best-in-class spam filtering and phishing protection.
- Ecosystem: Calendar, Drive, and Meet integration.
Cons:
- Cost: Starts at ~$6/user/month. This adds up for large teams.
- Privacy: You are trusting a tech giant with your data.
The Verdict
For hobbyists vs The World: Self-hosting is a great learning project, but a terrible business decision. For businesses: Pay for Hosted Email. The 10 hours you save per month debugging email issues is worth far more than the $6 subscription fee.
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