Self-Hosted Email Server: Full Control, Zero Monthly Fees

Email is one of the most fundamental internet services, yet most of us rely on third-party providers like Gmail or Outlook. While convenient, these services come with trade-offs: privacy concerns, limited customization, and potential censorship. So I asked myself:

Can I host my own email server. One that gives me full control, no ads, no vendor lock-in?

The answer: Yes. And you can too.

💡 Why Self-Host Your Email?

Before jumping into the setup, here’s why I chose to go down this rabbit hole:

• Data sovereignty: My emails stay on my server, not on someone else’s cloud.
• Privacy: No profiling, no scanning for ads.
• Custom domains: I can have any email address I want (mal@malwande.me).
• Learning experience: It’s a great deep dive into mail protocols, system administration, and DNS.

🧰 Tech Stack Overview

🛠️ Setup Steps (Overview)

Here’s a high-level summary of how I built the stack:

1. Provision a Raspberry Pi & Domain

• I used a Raspberry Pi 4B.
• Acquired a domain (malwande.me) and pointed DNS records to the server’s IP.

2. Install & Configure Postfix

• Set it up to send mail using authenticated SMTP.
• Configured TLS using Let’s Encrypt.
• Enabled submission port (587) and SMTPS (465).

3. Set Up Dovecot

• Configured to handle IMAP logins securely.
• Linked with Postfix for SASL authentication.
• Mailboxes stored under /var/mail/vhosts/.

4. Enable Spam & Virus Filtering

• Installed and configured rspamd and ClamAV.
• Fine-tuned rules and enabled greylisting for better deliverability.

5. DKIM, SPF, and DMARC

• Signed outgoing emails with OpenDKIM.
• Set SPF and DMARC records in DNS.
• Tested using Mail Tester.

6. Optional: Webmail via Roundcube

• Installed via Apache and PHP.
• Clean interface , great for occasional use.

🧪 Testing Deliverability

After setting everything up, I tested sending to Gmail, Outlook, ProtonMail, and others. Key observations:

✅ Gmail accepted mail with a “secure” badge
⚠️ Outlook flagged it as spam initially resolved by fixing SPF/DMARC alignment
✅ Excellent score on Mail Tester (9.3/10)

🔐 Security Considerations

• Fail2Ban for brute-force protection on SMTP/IMAP
• Enforced strong TLS ciphers
• Limited mail size and rate to prevent abuse

📦 Backup & Maintenance

• Nightly rsync backups of maildir and configs
• Certbot auto-renewal with a cron job
• Weekly log reviews and spam rule updates

🤯 Lessons Learned

• Running mail is harder than a web server, but so rewarding
• IP reputation is a real challenge, residential or cheap VPS IPs can be blacklisted
• A basic VPS (or Pi) can handle low-volume personal email just fine

📫 Final Thoughts

Hosting your own email isn’t for everyone, but if you love tinkering and value digital sovereignty, it’s a powerful project. With proper setup, it’s secure, reliable, and frees you from Big Tech inboxes.

You can now email me at my self-hosted inbox: mal@malwande.me 🚀