Mailpile

What Mailpile does

Mailpile ehf is an Icelandic open-source company founded in 2013 by Bjarni Einarsson, Smári McCarthy, and Brennan Novak that develops a privacy-focused email client designed to run as a self-hosted webmail server on the user's own computer. The product combines email client functionality, full-text search, and a personal webmail server with OpenPGP/GnuPG integration, local encrypted storage, Tor support, and defense-in-depth HTML rendering to mitigate email-based exfiltration and EFail-class attacks. Distribution is entirely via open-source channels: GitHub source, Debian/Ubuntu APT repositories, direct .deb downloads, and a Tor hidden service, under the AGPLv3 license.

The current technical roadmap is centered on a full rewrite — Mailpile v2, code-named 'moggie' — migrating the original Python 2 codebase to Python 3. Moggie is designed both as a terminal-mode (TUI) email client inspired by mutt and as a reusable technical toolkit exposing a documented HTTP/websocket API and CLI, intended to serve as the backend for the future Mailpile v2 web UI and as a foundation for third-party email tools. Adjacent modules include the Datadig data-mining plugin, Passcrow password recovery, Multipile Apache2 reverse-proxy integration, and a Linux desktop integration package.

Mailpile has never taken outside equity investment and is funded entirely by community contributions and grants, notably a 2013 IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign that raised over $135,000 and a 2023 NLnet grant through the NGI Zero Entrust initiative supporting moggie development through six milestones. The operating team is small (1-10 remote contributors) and the customer base consists of privacy-conscious individuals, self-hosting enthusiasts, and journalists/activists, served through community-led channels including the official blog, Discourse forum, Twitter, and GitHub.

Name

Mailpile

Legal name

Mailpile ehf.

Website

https://mailpile.is

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mailpile ehf is an Icelandic open-source company that develops a privacy-focused, self-hosted email client with OpenPGP encryption, currently being rewritten as the Python 3 "moggie" toolkit; funded entirely by community donations and grants for privacy-conscious users, self-hosters, and journalists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Privacy Email Client

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHSAFALAD

Virtual Paperwork, Mail & Records Management

Home & Personal Services/Home Organization & Decluttering/Virtual Organizing Consultations

Keywords

• Open source email client
• Privacy email software
• Self-hosted webmail
• Encrypted email tools
• OpenPGP email

Headquarters

HQ city

Reykjavík

HQ country

Iceland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Community Donations: Mailpile ehf is entirely funded by contributions from backers around the world. The business has never taken outside investment. Revenue comes through voluntary donations from the community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Mailpile develops and distributes a free, open-source, self-hosted email client that runs on the user's own computer as a personal webmail server. It combines email client functionality with built-in OpenPGP encryption, full-text search/organization, Tor integration, and local encrypted storage to protect user privacy without relying on cloud services. The current v2 rewrite, code-named 'moggie', is a Python 3 toolkit with a terminal-mode email client that will underpin the future Mailpile v2 web UI.

Product overview

Mailpile is a suite of open-source privacy-focused email tools, consisting of the core Mailpile email client (v1 and in-development v2), its moggie backend toolkit, and associated plugins. Mailpile v1 is a self-hosted webmail application that runs locally on the user's own computer, providing searchable email organization, local encrypted storage, and OpenPGP email encryption integrated with Tor. The v2 rewrite, code-named 'moggie', is a Python 3 replacement of the Python 2 v1 codebase; moggie also ships as a standalone terminal-mode email client and toolkit exposing a web-API backend. Supplementary tools include the Datadig email data-mining plugin, the Passcrow secure password recovery scheme, Multipile (Apache2 multi-user web integration), and the Mailpile Desktop Integration package for Linux. The project is community-funded, free software (AGPLv3), and accepts donations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mailpile v1 Open-source, self-hosted privacy-focused email client that runs on the user's own computer as a personal webmail server. Provides local encrypted storage, OpenPGP/GnuPG email encryption, Tor integration, and a searchable webmail interface. Targeted at privacy-conscious individuals. AGPLv3 licensed.
• Mailpile v2 (Moggie) The Python 3 rewrite of Mailpile, code-named 'moggie'. A technical toolkit for searching and working with email, exposing a documented HTTP/WebSocket API and CLI. Will underpin the next-generation Mailpile v2 webmail client.
• Moggie Terminal-Mode Email Client Standalone terminal-mode (text-based) email client and Unix-style command-line toolkit built on the moggie web-API backend. Usable as a standalone email client and as a reference implementation for building additional email clients or automation tools on top of moggie.

Quantifiable outcome

• Support for Autocrypt Level 1, compliant with email encryption standards
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• DuckDuckGominorOthersListed as an Icelandophile/supporter who donated at least $2000 worth of money, labour or products to Mailpile development.
• PageKiteminorOthersProvided products/services worth $2000+ to Mailpile. PageKite is used as a reverse proxy tunnel in Mailpile packages.
• Freedom Box Foundation (Eben Moglen)minorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development. Freedom Box focuses on personal servers and privacy.
• 1984 HostingminorOthersIcelandic hosting provider that donated services worth $2000+ to Mailpile. They lent desks and meeting rooms to the team during usability testing.
• FSDataminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.
• Express VPNminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.
• ThoughtWorksminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.
• Bytemark HostingminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.
• CloudfleetminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.
• GreenQloudminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.
• Commons MachineryminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.
• IntermineminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.
• RoboFontminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.
• WiThingsminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.
• Permanent SunsetminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.
• Cartmell HoldingsminorOthersListed as supporter who donated $2000+ to Mailpile development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tutanota: Tutanota offers end-to-end encrypted email focused on privacy-conscious users and journalists; it is the closest commercial analogue to Mailpile's privacy value proposition, delivered as a hosted webmail service.
• Claws Mail: Lightweight open-source GTK-based desktop email client that competes for the same self-hosting enthusiast segment prioritizing local control over mail.
• StartMail: Privacy-focused commercial encrypted email service from the Startpage ecosystem; comparable to Mailpile's encrypted messaging positioning, delivered as managed service.
• Proton Mail: Proton's flagship encrypted email service targets the same privacy-conscious individual user segment with end-to-end encryption and a similar open-source ethos, but delivers it as hosted SaaS rather than self-hosted.
• K-9 Mail: Open-source Android email client with strong focus on privacy and PGP/OpenPGP integration, appealing to the same privacy-conscious mobile-user persona.
• Thunderbird: Mozilla-backed open-source desktop email client; competes with Mailpile for technical users wanting full control of their mail client without cloud lock-in.
• Roundcube: Open-source self-hosted webmail application with similar self-hosting ethos and privacy positioning for users running their own mail server.

Emerging players

• Disroot: Non-profit community-funded email and online services provider sharing Mailpile's privacy and community-driven ethos, with some overlap in the activist/journalist segment.

Broad incumbents

• Fastmail: Established privacy-respecting commercial email provider serving individuals and SMEs; comparable on the privacy-without-ads positioning, but as a mature hosted SaaS rather than self-hosted toolkit.

Others

• GnuPG: OpenPGP encryption reference implementation that Mailpile directly integrates with via GnuPG; core to the cryptographic ecosystem Mailpile depends on.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MailpileTeam
• GitHubgithub.com/mailpile/Mailpile
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mailpile

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mailpile