Are you curious about automating your email marketing and managing campaigns more efficiently? Mautic might just be the open-source marketing automation platform you’ve been searching for.

In this guide, we’ll explore what Mautic is, why it matters for your marketing efforts, and how to self-host it using shared hosting or a virtual private server (VPS).

Meet Mautic

Mautic is an open-source marketing automation platform designed to help businesses and individuals streamline their email marketing, lead generation, and campaign management. Instead of juggling multiple tools, you can handle everything from personalized email campaigns to landing pages and contact tracking in one centralized system.

With Mautic, you gain:

• Full ownership of your data.
• The ability to integrate seamlessly with other tools and platforms.
• Freedom to customize and scale based on your needs.

Benefits of self-hosting Mautic

Self-hosting Mautic gives you complete control over your setup and data. It allows you to customize the platform, optimize performance, and avoid monthly subscription costs associated with many Software as a Service (SaaS) options.

Here are a few reasons to consider self-hosting:

• Customization: You can tailor Mautic to fit your brand and marketing workflow.
• Data privacy: Keep all your contact and campaign data under your own roof.
• Cost savings: While you’ll handle hosting expenses, you can avoid ongoing software licensing fees.

How to set up Mautic on shared hosting

If you’re just getting started or have lower resource requirements, shared hosting can be a budget-friendly option.

You can actually install Mautic in one click with our shared hosting, but for most shared hosting options, you would install it as follows:

1. Create a database: In your hosting control panel, create a new database and user for Mautic.

2. Upload Mautic files: Download Mautic from the official website and upload the .zip to your public HTML folder using FTP or the File Manager in your hosting control panel.

3. Run the installer: Access your domain in a browser. You’ll be guided through the Mautic installation wizard, where you’ll provide database details and configure admin settings.

4. Finalize setup: Once installed, you can log into the Mautic dashboard and start customizing campaigns, emails, and forms.

Shared hosting can handle basic email automation tasks. However, if you plan on sending large email volumes or need more control over server configurations, you might consider a VPS solution.

Note: In terms of shared hosting, while you can host Mautic with us, you would need to use an SMTP relay along with Mautic for actually sending the mail. Such as Sendgrid or beyond.

How to set up Mautic on a VPS with HestiaCP

For more flexibility, a VPS gives you greater control over server settings, and they generally come with more resources than shared hosting.

That said, HestiaCP is an open-source user-friendly control panel that helps you manage your server, domains, and applications without digging into command-line configurations. This will help make our VPS much more simple to manage, though it's entirely possible to do this without a control panel as well.

The steps to setup Mautic on a VPS are as follows:

1. Spin up a VPS: Choose a provider that offers NVMe KVM-based VPSes, such as V.PS. We recommend Debian 12 as your Linux distribution of choice for HestiaCP.
2. Install HestiaCP: Follow the official HestiaCP installation instructions on your VPS.

Which is as simple as:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hestiacp/hestiacp/release/install/hst-install.sh

Then:

bash hst-install.sh

After installation, you’ll receive login credentials for the control panel.

3. Create a web domain: In HestiaCP, add your domain under the “Web” section. The panel will set up configurations for Nginx/Apache (depending on your selection).

4. Install Mautic: You can upload Mautic through HestiaCP’s file manager or use FTP. Once uploaded, create a database for Mautic in the “Database” section of HestiaCP.

5. Complete the installation wizard: Visit your domain to start the Mautic install process. Provide your database credentials and follow the prompts until you can log in to the dashboard.

6. Fine-tune settings: Adjust PHP parameters, cron jobs, and email sending settings. With VPS-level access, you can modify server configurations to match your marketing automation needs.

And boom! You've installed Mautic!

Note: By default port 25 is blocked on our VPS line, which is pretty standard for the industry. On a case-by-case basis, we will open up port 25 with additional information that you can submit right here after you get a VPS. Please note that we protect our IP space because we want our legitimate customers to land in the inbox folder, not the spam folder. Generally, the best practice for email marketing is to use an affordable SMTP relay like Sendgrid or AWS SES and not email from the same infrastructure you'd be hosting Mautic on.

Conclusion

Mautic is a powerful, open-source marketing automation platform that puts you in control of your campaigns and data. Whether you choose a shared hosting plan or upgrade to a VPS with more resources, self-hosting Mautic can be both cost-effective and efficient.

If you’re exploring infrastructure options, xTom provides a range of solutions, including dedicated servers, colocation, IP transit, and more. If you need a flexible VPS environment, V.PS offers NVMe-powered, scalable KVM VPS solutions that can handle Mautic’s requirements for higher-volume email marketing.

Thanks for reading and here's to self-hosted email marketing! :-)

Note: Still not sold on using Mautic? Give our 6 Best Self-Hosted Email Marketing Tools article a read.

Frequently asked questions about Mautic

Is Mautic free to use?

Yes. Mautic is an open-source project licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). It's free to download and use, though you'll need to cover hosting costs.

How many emails can I send with Mautic?

There's no built-in limit. However, your sending capacity will depend on your server resources and the sending limits set by your email delivery provider.

How do I keep Mautic secure?

Always keep your Mautic installation, server software, and plugins updated. Use strong admin credentials, enable SSL certificates, and consider server-level security measures like firewalls and brute-force protection.

What are Mautic's system requirements?

Mautic requires PHP 7.4 or higher (PHP 8.0+ recommended), MySQL 5.7.14 or MariaDB 10.3+, a web server like Apache or Nginx, and at least 2GB of RAM (4GB recommended for production use). You'll also need approximately 500MB of disk space for the installation, with additional space for your marketing assets and data.

Can I migrate from another marketing platform to Mautic?

Yes, Mautic provides import tools that allow you to migrate contacts and some data from other platforms. You can import contacts via CSV files, and there are plugins available for migrating from popular platforms like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and others.

Does Mautic integrate with other tools and services?

Absolutely. Mautic offers native integrations with CRMs like Salesforce and SugarCRM, email delivery services like SendGrid and Mailgun, social media platforms, and WordPress. It also supports webhook integrations and has an API for custom connections.

How does Mautic handle email deliverability?

Mautic can send emails directly from your server, but for better deliverability, it's recommended to integrate with a dedicated email delivery service like SendGrid, Mailgun, or Amazon SES. This helps ensure your marketing emails reach their intended recipients.

Can I use Mautic for advanced marketing automation workflows?

Yes, Mautic includes a visual campaign builder that allows you to create sophisticated marketing workflows with conditions, decisions, and actions based on contact behavior. You can define triggers like email opens, form submissions, or page visits to send targeted follow-up communications.

How do I track website visitors with Mautic?

Mautic provides a tracking script that you can add to your website. This enables anonymous visitor tracking, and when visitors identify themselves (through form submissions, for example), their previous anonymous activities are associated with their new contact profile.

Is Mautic GDPR compliant?

Mautic includes features to help with GDPR compliance, such as contact preference centers, explicit consent tracking, and the ability to handle data subject access requests. However, the ultimate responsibility for GDPR compliance depends on how you configure and use the platform.

What's the difference between Mautic Community Edition and Mautic Cloud?

Mautic Community Edition is the free, open-source version that you can self-host. Mautic Cloud was a commercial SaaS offering that provided hosted Mautic instances with additional features and support, but it was discontinued in 2019. Today, there are various third-party hosting providers that offer managed Mautic services.

How often is Mautic updated?

The Mautic community typically releases major versions every few months, with smaller updates and security patches released as needed. Self-hosted installations require manual updates, which can be performed through the admin interface or via the command line.

Can I use Mautic for A/B testing?

Yes, Mautic supports A/B testing for emails, landing pages, and forms. You can test different subject lines, content variations, and designs to optimize your marketing campaigns based on performance data.

How does Mautic compare to other marketing automation tools like Mailchimp or HubSpot?

Mautic offers similar core functionality to commercial platforms but with complete ownership and customization capabilities. While it may require a more technical setup than SaaS alternatives, it provides greater flexibility and no per-contact pricing, making it cost-effective for growing businesses.

What languages does Mautic support?

Mautic has been translated into over 50 languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese. The community actively maintains these translations through a collaborative platform.

Can I create landing pages and forms with Mautic?

Yes, Mautic includes a visual builder for creating responsive landing pages and customizable forms. These can be hosted directly on your Mautic installation or embedded on external websites to capture leads.

How does Mautic handle contact segmentation?

Mautic provides powerful segmentation capabilities through its segments feature. You can create dynamic segments based on contact properties, behaviors, and engagement levels. These segments automatically update as contacts meet or no longer meet the defined criteria.