Self-hosted newsletter software
Free and open-source tools like Listmonk let you own your data, skip recurring SaaS fees, and send to any size list without per-subscriber pricing. Compare setup effort, real costs, and features across the top four self-hosted options.
Why self-hosted beats SaaS email
SaaS email tools charge by the subscriber. Send to 50,000 contacts on Mailchimp? Budget $500/month minimum. Self-hosted tools like Listmonk charge for the server (fixed cost) and the email relay (pay-as-you-send). No penalty for growth.
You also keep your data. No vendor lock-in. If your email provider raises prices or sunsets features, your list stays yours.
The tradeoff: you need to run the software somewhere—either on your own server or let a managed host like Opsily handle it. The open-source tools below handle both.
The four contenders
We looked at Listmonk, Mautic, Sendy, and Keila. Each solves the "own your data" problem differently. Each has a different price curve and learning cliff.
Cost for 100,000 emails per month
Here's what each tool costs to send 100K emails to your list:
Listmonk + AWS SES
- Software: Free (AGPL open-source)
- Server: $13/mo (Opsily managed) or $5–10/mo (DIY VPS)
- Email relay: $10 (AWS SES at $0.10 per 1,000 emails)
- Total: $23–$33/mo (or $18–$23/mo if you self-host the server)
Sendy + AWS SES
- Software: $69 one-time
- Email relay: $10 (AWS SES)
- Server: $5–10/mo (your web host)
- Total: $15–$20/mo after the upfront $69 license
- (Best for tech-savvy founders comfortable with AWS)
Mautic (managed)
- Platform: €247.50/mo (~$270/mo)
- Includes: Server, email management, and 50K emails
- Scale to 100K: Add €247.50/mo for another tier
- Total: ~$540/mo for 100K emails
- (Best for teams needing marketing automation, not just newsletters)
Keila (managed, cloud-hosted EU)
- Platform: €128/mo (~$140/mo)
- Includes: 100K emails per month, hosted in Germany/France
- Total: $140/mo
- (Best for privacy-first teams wanting EU data residency)
Setup complexity
Listmonk: Moderate. Single Go binary or Docker. Most developers can deploy in 30 minutes. Non-coders should use managed Listmonk on Opsily.
Sendy: Moderate. PHP/MySQL app on a web host. Requires some technical knowledge to install and configure.
Mautic: High. Complex marketing automation platform with steep learning curve. Designed for teams, not individuals. Overkill if you only send newsletters.
Keila: Moderate. Modern interface, hosted for you. No setup required—sign up and go. Trade-off: €140/mo minimum.
Feature depth
Listmonk: Lightweight, fast. List management, segmentation, campaign templates, API. Everything a newsletter tool needs. Nothing it doesn't.
Mautic: Marketing automation suite. Lead scoring, workflows, email sequences. Powerful but complex. Built for marketers running multi-step campaigns.
Sendy: Simple and focused. Campaign sending, list management, basic analytics. Works well if your tech is comfortable with AWS.
Keila: Modern newsletter-focused platform. Clean UI, list segmentation, templates. Privacy-first positioning. No marketing automation.
GitHub activity (credibility proxy)
Listmonk: 24.2K stars, 2.8K forks, 2,299 commits, active development
Mautic: 11.0K stars, 3.5K forks, 41,806 commits (much older project, longer history)
Keila and Sendy: No star counts in public research; Sendy is a commercial product, Keila is newer/smaller community
The winner for each use case
If you want the lowest cost: Sendy ($15–20/mo after $69 one-time investment) beats Listmonk if you're AWS-comfortable. Otherwise, self-hosted Listmonk on a cheap VPS ($18–23/mo).
If you want zero setup pain: Keila (€140/mo, sign up and send) or managed Listmonk on Opsily (no DevOps required, same data ownership as pure self-hosted).
If you want the most flexible tool: Listmonk. Free software, works with any email provider, scales with you.
If you need marketing automation: Mautic. But budget $540+/mo and expect a steep onboarding curve.
Self-hosted newsletter software, without the DevOps
Own your data, skip the headaches.
Deploy in minutes
No Docker commands, no server provisioning, no SSL certificate headaches. Click, confirm, done. Your Listmonk instance is live and ready to receive. We handle backups, monitoring, and updates.
Full data ownership
Your subscriber list lives on your infrastructure. No SaaS cloud lock-in. GDPR-compliant German data centers. You can download your entire database anytime or migrate to your own server with zero friction.
No per-subscriber fees
Grow your list to 100K, 1M, 10M contacts without cost creep. Pay for the server, pick your email relay, and scale. Listmonk doesn't care about list size. You save thousands per year compared to Mailchimp or Brevo pricing tiers.
Get started with managed Listmonk
From sign-up to your first campaign in under 15 minutes.
Sign up with email. No credit card required for the free tier.
Search our app catalog, click Install, name your instance. That's it. Opsily provisions your managed server and deploys Listmonk automatically.
Add your SMTP relay credentials (AWS SES, Mailgun, SendGrid, or Postmark). Listmonk is flexible—use whatever provider gives you the best rates.
Sign up with email. No credit card required for the free tier.
Search our app catalog, click Install, name your instance. That's it. Opsily provisions your managed server and deploys Listmonk automatically.
Add your SMTP relay credentials (AWS SES, Mailgun, SendGrid, or Postmark). Listmonk is flexible—use whatever provider gives you the best rates.
Create your Opsily account
Sign up with email. No credit card required for the free tier.
Deploy Listmonk
Search our app catalog, click Install, name your instance. That's it. Opsily provisions your managed server and deploys Listmonk automatically.
Connect your email provider
Add your SMTP relay credentials (AWS SES, Mailgun, SendGrid, or Postmark). Listmonk is flexible—use whatever provider gives you the best rates.
Import and send
Upload your subscriber list, build a campaign using the template editor, and send. Listmonk handles bounce management, list hygiene, and detailed delivery reports.
Pick your server size
All plans include managed Listmonk deployment, automated backups, GDPR-compliant hosting, and 99.9% uptime SLA.
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Potential savings vs. SaaS email tools
A 50,000-contact list on Mailchimp costs €500+/mo. The same list on Opsily's managed Listmonk costs €30/mo server + email relay fees. You own the data. No lock-in.
Frequently asked questions
Self-hosted newsletter software runs on your own server instead of a SaaS company's cloud. You own your data, pay by server size (not subscriber count), and avoid vendor lock-in. You need it if you're tired of per-subscriber pricing (Mailchimp charges $500+/mo for 50,000 contacts), or if your industry requires data to stay in-country. For small lists under 10K contacts, SaaS is usually simpler. For large or growing lists, self-hosted pays for itself fast.
Skip the setup headaches. Own your data.
Start your free Opsily trial today. Deploy managed Listmonk, connect your email provider, and send your first campaign.