Compare
PostMTA Hosted vs PowerMTA
Commercial MTA with per-server licensing vs Kumo-native appliance you own — no annual license trap.
| Capability | PostMTA Hosted | PowerMTA |
|---|---|---|
| License | No per-server fee (Kumo Apache 2) | $3k–10k+/year per server |
| Control plane | Panel + API + smoke gates | Config files + vendor support |
| Policy | Render → apply → epoch bump | Native PMTA syntax |
| Cloud-native | Docker/Caddy/systemd path | Traditional bare-metal focus |
| Vendor lock-in | Open Kumo + your data | License renewal required |
Where PMH is the wrong choice
If you already have deep operational muscle with PowerMTA, do not rip and replace for the sake of it. PostMTA Hosted shines when the buyer needs managed control plane + smoke gates + verified From defaults. For pure send-and-forget transactional already covered by your incumbent, stay.
Migration timeline
- Week 1 — appliance bring-up + smoke-prod green.
- Week 2 — verified domains + credits ledger seeded.
- Week 3 — phased traffic at 1%, 10%, 50%, 100%.
- Week 4 — decommission PowerMTA.
Operators: see docs/getting-startedand docs/operate/PRODUCTION for the appliance runbook.