GoKawiilIf you have spent a few days online in self-hosting or data-sovereignty communities there is one advice that always pops up:
You can self-host anything but not your e-mail server!
I do understand where they are coming from since there are horror stories around about blocklists and delivery problems but today I want to show you that it is in fact possible in 2026 and you might even be able to host it from home! By design email is an open system and we should not accept that a few big corporations have all our mail and the internet to become less decentralized in the process.
Since my small MSP company helps people and corporations on a daily basis to switch from Gmail and Microsoft to cloud alternatives or self-hosted solutions I thought I should put my money where my mouth is and also move away from Google Workspace.
At home or on a VPS?
The small subset of self-hosters that are willing to self-host their mailserver is again divided between those who dare to host their mailservers at home and those, who will only use a VPS. Usually I'd suggest using a VPS but if your home internet checks these boxes, you can 100% host your own mailserver at home:
Static IPv4 address (make sure it's not blacklisted)
Static IPv4 address (make sure it's not blacklisted) Not behind a CGNAT
Not behind a CGNAT Ability to change the PTR record of your IP (usually though the support of your ISP)
Ability to change the PTR record of your IP (usually though the support of your ISP) Ability to open common mailserver Ports ( 25 , 143 , 465 , 587 , 993 )
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