MailCleaner
MailCleaner, operated by Swiss parent Alinto AG, provides open-source and cloud-based email security (antispam, antivirus, anti-phishing) for enterprises, ISPs/MSPs, governments, and educational institutions, primarily across Europe and North America.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersLausanne, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What MailCleaner does
MailCleaner is a Swiss-developed email security platform operated by Alinto AG, headquartered in St-Sulpice (with a North America office in Blainville, Quebec) that protects email infrastructure against spam, viruses, malware, phishing, and spoofing. Its core technology is an open-source spam-filter appliance gateway combining SpamAssassin, ClamAV, Exim, and proprietary AI/ML modules (including deep neural networks and a Bayesian database) with optional Spamhaus ZEN, ESET, and Kaspersky engines. The product portfolio spans the free Open Source Edition (marketed as SpamTagger) for community use, the discontinued MailCleaner Virtual Appliance (on-premises, ended March 31, 2025), and the flagship Cleanmail cloud-based commercial edition for private companies, public institutions, and MSPs, with deployment options on Amazon AWS and as a managed cloud appliance.
The business model is anchored on recurring annual subscriptions for Cleanmail and the prior Virtual Appliance, paid support tiers (Basic email, Premium with 4-hour response and telephone/remote access), optional paid add-ons (Spamhaus ZEN at a 20% license uplift, ESET, Kaspersky, OCR, Newsletter Detection, Machine Learning module), and special pricing for ISPs, resellers, governments, and educational institutions. Go-to-market combines a global certified distributor and reseller network, direct cloud sales, and an AWS marketplace listing, supported by content marketing (blog, documentation center), a 30-day free trial, and an open-source community forum.
The customer base is diversified across Swiss and European education (EPFL with 20,000 users, Universities of Lausanne, Geneva, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, IMD, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne), government (City of Geneva, Oklahoma OJA), hospitality (Beau-Rivage Palace), manufacturing (Bobst Group), healthcare (Centre Hospitalier Albertville Moutiers), finance (Vaudoise Assurances), ISP/telecom (VTX), and major events (Montreux Jazz Festival, Paléo Festival). MailCleaner is privately held under Alinto AG with no disclosed funding rounds, and holds WIPO and Swiss trademark registrations for the MailCleaner brand.
MailCleaner firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MailCleaner
- Legal name
- Alinto AG
- Website
- https://mailcleaner.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- MailCleaner, operated by Swiss parent Alinto AG, provides open-source and cloud-based email security (antispam, antivirus, anti-phishing) for enterprises, ISPs/MSPs, governments, and educational institutions, primarily across Europe and North America.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MailCleaner industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Email Security Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Spam, Fake Engagement & Content Abuse Prevention (HDADALAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Email Phishing & BEC Protection (HDADAKAB), Email Authentication & Domain Protection (DMARC/SPF/DKIM) (HDADAKAC), Data Security & Privacy Managed Services (DLP/Encryption) (BPAEADAL)
Keywords
Where MailCleaner is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lausanne
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
MailCleaner business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Annual License Subscriptions: MailCleaner Virtual Appliance is sold as an annual license subscription. The licence fee is paid on an annual basis. Customers are notified one month before the end of the subscription period.
- Enterprise Edition Licensing: Enterprise edition includes automatic updates for both software and filtering rules. Premium support includes email, telephone, and remote access support with response within 4 business hours.
- Professional Services and Support: Premium support with response within 4 hours and best effort outside of business hours. Remote access support available for troubleshooting.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | One time/ perpetual license | Community Edition - Free open source version |
| Subscription | Annual | Virtual Appliance Basic - Entry-level professional version |
| Subscription | Annual | Virtual Appliance Premium - Full-featured enterprise version |
| Subscription | Annual | Spamhaus ZEN Option - Add-on for all editions |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels4 records
MailCleaner product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MailCleaner sells an open-source-based anti-spam and antivirus email gateway appliance that filters inbound and outbound mail, blocks viruses, malware, phishing, and unsolicited messages, and provides quarantine management. It is offered as a free Open Source Edition (SpamTagger), a paid Virtual Appliance for on-premises enterprise use (discontinued March 31, 2025), and the Cleanmail commercial cloud-based service operated by parent Alinto AG. The platform is sold primarily to enterprises, ISPs/ASPs, governments, MSPs, and educational institutions worldwide.
Product overview
MailCleaner is a Swiss-made email security platform offering both free open-source and commercial antispam/antivirus solutions. The core Open Source Edition (Community Edition) is a fully auditable, GPL-licensed appliance gateway for spam and virus filtering. The commercial portfolio is anchored by Cleanmail, a cloud-hosted managed service, and the MailCleaner Virtual Appliance, an on-premises enterprise software solution with OS, antivirus, and antispam built in. Additional deployment options include Cloud on Amazon AWS and Cloud Appliance. The platform also offers optional add-on modules including Spamhaus ZEN IP and Content blocklists, ESET antivirus, Newsletter Detection, and a Machine Learning module with deep neural networks. All editions share a web-based user and administrator interface supporting 11+ languages, with clustering support for high-volume ISP/enterprise deployments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SpamTagger: Open Source Edition of MailCleaner anti-spam filter
- Cleanmail
- MailCleaner Enterprise Solution
- MailCleaner Virtual Appliance
Products and services
- MailCleaner Open Source Edition (Community Edition / SpamTagger) Free, fully open-source anti-spam and antivirus email gateway appliance for self-hosted deployment; users can audit the source code to verify data confidentiality. Distributed via spamtagger.org.
- Cleanmail (Commercial Cloud Edition) Professional cloud-based antispam and antivirus service for private companies, public institutions, and MSPs, with built-in quarantine management and emergency webmail.
- MailCleaner Cloud Appliance Cloud-hosted version of MailCleaner providing online email protection without local installation, offered as a managed service.
- MailCleaner Cloud on Amazon AWS Hosted cloud antispam service deployed on Amazon AWS infrastructure, offering managed email filtering without on-premises installation.
Quantifiable outcome
- Spam filtering success rate exceeds 99%
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use MailCleaner
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
MailCleaner technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature11 records
MailCleaner partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Global Distributor NetworkcoreMailCleaner maintains a global network of certified distributors and resellers across multiple countries. Partners receive in-depth training on products and maintain constant contact with the MailCleaner development center. The Partner Network includes four communities: Authorized Distributors, Registered Resellers (System Integrators, VARs, Solution Providers), ISPs & ASPs Business Partners, and Complementary Partners.
- SpamhauscoreSpamhaus provides professional real-time threat and reputation blocklists to MailCleaner as an optional add-on. This increases MailCleaner's accuracy to more than 99.6%. Spamhaus maintains the SBL/XBL/PBL Advisory system and domain URI Blocklists for phishing and malware detection.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
MailCleaner competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SpamTitan (TitanHQ): Email security appliance and cloud gateway with anti-spam, anti-phishing, and DMARC capabilities targeting SMB and MSPs — closest direct competitor to MailCleaner Virtual Appliance and Cleanmail in terms of form factor (virtual appliance and cloud) and target verticals including education and government.
- Vade Secure (Hornetsecurity): AI-driven email security (anti-phishing, anti-spear phishing, anti-spam) sold to MSPs and SMB/mid-market enterprises — comparable AI/ML-based detection approach and similar recurring cloud delivery model to Cleanmail.
- CleanMail (Cleanmail antispam) by Stalking Software: Direct European competitor offering on-premises and cloud anti-spam gateways with similar feature set (SpamAssassin/ClamAV-based) — comparable open-source-rooted positioning and overlap in education and SMB segments in Europe.
Broad incumbents
- Mimecast: Cloud-based email security, archiving, and continuity provider with mature anti-spam, phishing, and impersonation protection — competes for the same Cleanmail customer profile (mid-market and enterprise) but offers a fuller integrated platform than MailCleaner's gateway-centric product.
- Proofpoint: Leading email security vendor offering enterprise anti-spam, anti-phishing, and BEC protection as part of a broader people-centric security platform — directly comparable feature set to MailCleaner's premium offering, but at much larger scale and bundled into a broader security suite.
- Area1/Cloudflare Email Security: Cloud-native anti-phishing and email security service (acquired Area 1) targeting enterprise and SMEs — modern AI-first competitor to MailCleaner's gateway model with the distribution leverage of Cloudflare's broader network/security portfolio.
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Default email security layer bundled with Microsoft 365, including anti-spam, anti-phishing, and Safe Links/Safe Attachments — the most significant competitive threat to any independent anti-spam gateway because it is included with the customer email platform MailCleaner integrates with.
- Barracuda Networks (Email Protection): Long-standing provider of email security gateways, spam filtering, and advanced threat protection sold both direct and via MSPs — comparable appliance and cloud email filtering model to MailCleaner's discontinued Virtual Appliance and Cleanmail, with significantly broader portfolio.
Others
- Spamhaus: Provider of professional IP, domain, and URI reputation blocklists that MailCleaner integrates as a paid add-on (Spamhaus ZEN) — comparable threat-intelligence capability but operating as a data/feed vendor rather than a gateway appliance, and a strategic partner.
- SpamAssassin / Apache SpamAssassin: Open-source spam filtering engine that MailCleaner's core product is explicitly built upon — same underlying detection technology, comparable audience of self-hosted and OEM deployments, but as a project rather than a commercial product.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MailCleaner social profiles
Digital presenceMailCleaner financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MailCleaner leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
MailCleaner funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MailCleaner M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MailCleaner
What does MailCleaner do?
MailCleaner sells an open-source-based anti-spam and antivirus email gateway appliance that filters inbound and outbound mail, blocks viruses, malware, phishing, and unsolicited messages, and provides quarantine management. It is offered as a free Open Source Edition (SpamTagger), a paid Virtual Appliance for on-premises enterprise use (discontinued March 31, 2025), and the Cleanmail commercial cloud-based service operated by parent Alinto AG. The platform is sold primarily to enterprises, ISPs/ASPs, governments, MSPs, and educational institutions worldwide.
Is MailCleaner a public or private company?
MailCleaner is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was MailCleaner founded?
MailCleaner was founded in 2001. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MailCleaner based?
MailCleaner is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does MailCleaner make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Annual License Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are enterprise Edition Licensing and professional Services and Support.
Who are MailCleaner's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SpamTitan (TitanHQ), Vade Secure (Hornetsecurity) and CleanMail (Cleanmail antispam) by Stalking Software. Broad incumbents are Mimecast, Proofpoint, Area1/Cloudflare Email Security, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and Barracuda Networks (Email Protection). Others are Spamhaus and SpamAssassin / Apache SpamAssassin.
Does MailCleaner have an API?
Yes. RESTFull and SOAP API for external domain management. Allows administrators to manage domains, user and address management programmatically. Developer documentation is at new.mailcleaner.net/downloads/MailCleanerAPI.pdf.
What industry is MailCleaner in?
MailCleaner's product category is Email Security Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADALAG, Spam, Fake Engagement & Content Abuse Prevention, with a secondary code of HDADAKAB, Email Phishing & BEC Protection. Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7372.