In this post, we will compare and quickly discuss Postfix vs Exim vs Sendmail. Bobcares can handle your MTA difficulties with our Server Management Services.

Postfix vs Exim vs Sendmail

While Sendmail is a Unix system standard, Postfix is an MTA with a strong emphasis on security. Exim is set up in such a way that its flexibility exceeds that of most MTAs. Let’s take a closer look at each MTA.

Postfix

With a security-focused design, it provides a variety of options, features, and settings. It also comes pre-loaded with a variety of mail filters. The advantages and disadvantages are as follows:

Advantages

1. High security
2. Accessible high-quality documentation
3. High-speed queuing process
4. Simple setup
5. Sendmail compatibility

Disadvantages

1. Challenging customization process

Exim

It has its own app language capable of handling complex setups. The multi-step mail processing algorithm is hard enough to handle even the most difficult situations. The advantages and disadvantages are as follows:

Advantages

1. Excellent scalability
2. Sendmail compatibility
3. Adaptable configuration
4. Large and extremely supportive community
5. cPanel assistance

Disadvantages

1. Low-speed queueing operation
2. Monolithic architecture

Sendmail

It allows the user to send emails over SMTP. It’s possible that Sendmail is on its way out. Its market share has declined largely since last decade.

Advantages

1. Outstanding setup
2. Easily transportable
3. Significant adaptability

Disadvantages

1. Weak security
2. Complicated customization

We’ve seen the basics of the three MTAs, Postfix, Exim, and Sendmail. Now, let’s look at some of the factors to consider when selecting an MTA.

How to select an MTA?

Business running one’s own mail server is difficult. That is why, in order to make the best decision, we must examine every detail of Postfix, Exim, and Sendmail. The first consideration is whether the MTA is relay-only or full-fledged.

All three fall in the category of Full-fledged MTAs. They are capable of handling all aspects of Internet mail delivery. Typically, this type of mail transfer agent accepts emails from relay-only MTAs and forwards them.

To make our selection the most suitable one, we also need to look into certain other details. It includes security, reliability, and performance. Let’s look into the detail.

When considering Security, Postfix is the best option. It originally intended to overcome the shortcomings of Sendmail. Exim is fairly secure, however, it falls short of Postfix.

Sendmail is a poor competitor when considering the Performance factor. Exim is used for a variety of high-volume online applications and can handle a large number of emails per hour. However, large queues might have a significant impact on the queue-processing performance of Exim servers. Postfix, unlike Exim, has a central queue manager and can handle queues to a better standard and at a faster rate.

Sendmail is considered the most inefficient MTA among the three considering Reliability. Both Postfix and Exim are alternatives to Sendmail and are nearly equal with regard to reliability. However, Postfix’s modular architecture puts it one step ahead.

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Conclusion

We have included the basic features provided by our Tech team for each MTAs, Postfix, Exim, and Sendmail. Then we also give a comparison of Postfix vs Exim vs Sendmail based on factors like security, reliability, and performance.