The 6 Best Self-Hosted Email Marketing Tools
Ditch expensive hosted email marketing tools and check out these self-hosted options instead.
Publish date: 7/19/2024
It's no secret that email marketing is necessary for any business nowadays. If you aren't incorporating email marketing into your business, you're simply leaving tons of money on the table.
But the price tags that come with hosted email marketing tools can be quite steep, and more importantly lock you into a hosted solution.
They also tend to charge per the amount of leads you have on your email list, which can add up quickly.
In other words, convenience tends to cost...
So, of course, not everyone wants that. And that's exactly where self-hosted email marketing tools come in.
Rather than paying hundreds of dollars every month to a SaaS option, you just pay for what it costs to host, and many self-hosted email marketing tools are open source and free entirely.
That said, if you're interested in ditching expensive hosted email marketing tools, then keep reading, because in this article we'll be breaking down the 6 best self-hosted options.
Let's dive in.
Comparing the 6 best self-hosted email marketing tools
1. Mautic
Overview
Mautic is an open-source marketing automation platform that offers tools beyond email marketing, such as campaign management, website tracking, SMS marketing, and beyond.
It's truly a complete solution, but it can be a bit too much at times.
They've thought about everything possible that you can put into a marketing software, and put it in Mautic. That could be a pro or a con depending on your point of view.
Key features
- Comprehensive campaign management
- Advanced segmentation and personalization
- Seamless integrations with CRMs and social media platforms
- Dynamic content creation
Pros
- Extensive customization options
- Open source and free
- Active community and regular updates
- Supports multi-channel marketing
- Lots of automation possibilities
Cons
- Steeper learning curve
- Requires more resources for setup and maintenance
2. Mailtrain
Overview
Mailtrain is a self-hosted newsletter application built on Node.js and MySQL, focusing on simplicity and essential features for email marketing.
It's incredibly barebones, but it just works. If you want a simple email marketing tool, this is a great option.
Key features
- Easy list management
- Detailed campaign analytics
- Custom fields and segmentation
- Template support
Pros
- Simple and intuitive interface
- Open source and free
- Lightweight and efficient
- Good performance with large lists
Cons
- Limited advanced features
- Smaller community and fewer integrations
3. Sendy
Overview
Sendy is the only paid option on this list, but it's quite polished in a simplistic way. It does what it's supposed to and nothing else, and you'll rarely run into issues using it, even at scale.
You can't really go wrong with Sendy, but one thing to note is it's designed to work around the Amazon AWS ecosystem (SES, but you can also use other SMTP relay services).
Key features
- Cost efficiency through Amazon SES
- Detailed reporting
- List and campaign management
- Autoresponders for automated email sequences
Pros
- Extremely cost-effective
- Simple setup and user-friendly interface
- Reliable email delivery with high deliverability rates
- Lots of automation possibilities
Cons
- Limited to Amazon SES for sending emails
- Paid only
- Fewer advanced features
4. phpList
Overview
phpList is a mature open-source email marketing software. It's one of the older options on this list, but it's tried and true.
If you want something that just works, phpList is a good option.
Key features
- Advanced list management
- Automated bounce handling
- Detailed campaign tracking
Pros
- Highly scalable
- Open source and free
- Extensive customization options
Cons
- Outdated and less intuitive interface
- Requires more technical expertise
5. Listmonk
Overview
Listmonk is a open source self-hosted newsletter manager built with Go and Vue.js.
Out of all of the alternatives on this list, it's by far the most modern option. But that comes with pros and cons, as you might run into an issue or two here and there while using Listmonk considering it's in its infancy.
Regardless, Listmonk is a great option to give a shot, and has one of the best user interfaces out of all of these options.
Key features
- Designed for high performance and scalability
- Supports multi-tenancy
- Advanced analytics
- Customizable templates
Pros
- Ideal for handling large volumes
- Modern interface with a focus on usability
- Open source and free
- Supports multi-tenancy
Cons
- Relatively new with a smaller community
- Requires some technical knowledge
6. Nuevomailer
Overview
Nuevomailer is a great shout, but admittedly like phpList, Nuevomailer is starting to show its age a little bit.
That isn't to say it won't do it's job perfectly fine, it will, but it's a bit rough around the edges.
Key features
- Drag-and-drop email editor
- Advanced list management
- Automated campaigns
- Comprehensive analytics
Pros
- Open source and free
- Powerful automation features
- Good integration options
Cons
- User experience could be improved
- Requires technical knowledge for initial setup and maintenance
Summarizing things
| Feature/software | Mautic | Mailtrain | Sendy | phpList | Listmonk | Nuevomailer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key features | Comprehensive campaign management, advanced segmentation, dynamic content | Easy list management, detailed analytics, template support | Cost-efficient via Amazon SES, detailed reporting, autoresponders | Advanced list management, customizable templates, bounce handling | High performance, multi-tenancy, advanced analytics | Drag-and-drop editor, advanced list management, automated campaigns |
| Ease of use | Moderate | Easy | Easy | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Customization | High | Medium | Medium | High | Medium | High |
| Community support | High | Medium | Medium | High | Medium | Medium |
| Server requirements | Moderate | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Best for | Businesses needing comprehensive features | Freelancers and small businesses | Cost-conscious businesses | Large lists, high customization | High performance needs, multi-tenancy | Businesses of all sizes needing automation |
Conclusion
Any of these email marketing tools will work great, and the majority are free and open source.
All you need to do is weigh out the options, pick one, and give it a try. If you don't like it, just uninstall it and install one of the other options.
That's the joy of self-hosting: you have ultimate control, and it's very affordable!
Also, one last thing to note: you're best off using a service like SES or any SMTP relay for sending your emails. Even if you're self-hosting your email marketing tool, you'll be in for a bad time trying to establish and maintain sending reputation on your own IPs.
That said, hopefully you found some value out of this article and if you're looking for a home for your digital infrastructure, xTom would love to help!
We offer things like transit, colocation, dedicated servers and beyond through our xTom brand, however our KVM NVMe V.PS brand will work perfectly for self-hosting an email marketing tool.
It starts at as little as the price of a cup of coffee, and you can scale your VPS as your brand grows.
Thanks for reading!