Piler vs MailArchiva
Modern microservices vs traditional monolithic architecture
Two Self-Hosted Approaches
Both Piler and MailArchiva offer self-hosted email archiving, but they differ significantly in architecture, resource requirements, and modern capabilities.
MailArchiva
- ❌Monolithic architecture
- ❌No native Docker support
- ❌No AI/semantic search
- ⚠️Limited multi-tenant support
- ✅Self-hosted option available
- ✅Cloud/SaaS option available
- ✅Established solution
Piler Enterprise
- ✅Microservices architecture
- ✅Docker / Native packages
- ✅AI-powered semantic search
- ✅Built-in multi-tenancy for MSPs
- ✅Self-hosted with full control
- ✅Use your own DB, Redis, search
Feature Comparison
| Feature | MailArchiva | Piler Enterprise |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment Options | Installer / Cloud SaaS | Docker / Native packages |
| Architecture | Monolithic | Microservices |
| Full-Text Search | Yes (Lucene) | Yes (Manticore, sub-200ms) |
| AI/Semantic Search | No | Yes (on-premise ML) |
| Sensitive Data Detection | No | Built-in Smart Insights |
| eDiscovery | Yes | Yes |
| Legal Hold | Yes | Yes |
| Retention Policies | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Tenant (MSPs) | Limited | Yes (built-in) |
| Use Your Own Infrastructure | Limited | Yes (DB, Redis, search) |
Why Organizations Choose Piler Over MailArchiva
🏗️ Modern Architecture
MailArchiva is a monolithic application. Updating means replacing the entire system. Scaling means bigger hardware.
Piler's microservices let you scale search independently from storage. Update components without full system downtime.
🐳 Container-Native Deployment
MailArchiva uses traditional installers. Deployment requires manual setup and configuration of dependencies.
Piler deploys via Docker Compose in minutes. All dependencies included, consistent environments, easy updates.
🤖 AI-Powered Features
MailArchiva offers traditional Lucene-based keyword search. Finding emails requires knowing exact terms.
Piler includes semantic search (find by meaning) and Smart Insights for automatic sensitive data detection - all running on-premise.
🔧 Infrastructure Flexibility
MailArchiva comes with its own embedded components. Integrating with existing infrastructure requires workarounds.
Piler lets you use your own MySQL/MariaDB cluster, Redis, and search infrastructure. Integrate with existing monitoring and backup systems.
Migrating from MailArchiva
Move your archive from MailArchiva to Piler with a straightforward process.
Export from MailArchiva
Use MailArchiva's export tools to extract archived emails in EML format
Deploy Piler
Set up Piler using Docker Compose or native packages - full stack running in minutes
Import Historical Archive
Import exported EML files into Piler to preserve your complete archive history
Redirect Email Flow
Update your mail server journaling to send to Piler instead of MailArchiva
Ready for a Leaner, Faster Archive?
Try Piler Enterprise Edition free for 30 days. See the performance difference.