Rspamd review
A configurable, self-hosted email security engine for technical mail teams.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Rspamd is an open-source email filtering engine for enterprises, email service providers, hosting providers, and mail-server operators. It analyzes inbound and outbound messages using spam scoring, Bayesian classification, machine learning, reputation checks, fuzzy hashes, authentication validation, content rules, and configurable actions. The free edition is suited to technical teams that want control over deployment and filtering behavior on Linux, macOS, or self-hosted infrastructure.
Its integration model is a major strength for organizations running their own mail stack. Rspamd connects through HTTP API and Milter protocols and integrates with Postfix, Exim, Sendmail, Haraka, Apache James, OpenSMTPD, and Stalwart Mail. Redis, ClamAV, ClickHouse, and Elasticsearch integrations extend storage, antivirus, and analysis options. Administrators also get a web interface, command-line tools, Lua-based custom rules, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation, phishing and suspicious URL detection, outbound scanning, and rate limiting. Teams centered on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace should evaluate the integration fit separately.
The published paid plans add operational and support capabilities. Scale costs £100 per month for 5K mailboxes and includes a fuzzy premium database, stable packages repository, fuzzy bulk service, and core engineering team support. Enterprise covers 50K+ mailboxes with priority support and SLA, custom development and consulting, and Neural/FastText models. Hosted provides custom mailboxes and a fully managed deployment on customer or Rspamd infrastructure. Choose Rspamd for configurable, open-source control and broad mail-server connectivity; choose an alternative if you need a managed-first service, named cloud mailbox support, or isolated malware sandboxing.
Rspamd pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free open-source edition with programmable filtering and scoring
- Broad mail-server integration through HTTP API and Milter
- Supports inbound and outbound scanning, rate limiting, and authentication checks
- Where it doesn't
- Requires technical administration of mail-server integrations
- Paid Scale plan starts at £100 per month for 5K mailboxes
- Uses antivirus integration rather than an isolated malware sandbox
Rspamd fact sheet, pricing and score →
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