Self-hosted alternatives to Mailchimp
Want newsletters and email marketing without handing your data to Mailchimp? These 13 open-source apps run on your own server. Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $3.5/month.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keila direct | Actively maintained | 2.3k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Forward Email direct | Actively maintained | 1.7k | BUSL-1.1, MPL-2.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Listmonk | Actively maintained | 24.1k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| Mautic | Actively maintained | 10.9k | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Dittofeed | Actively maintained | 3k | MIT | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| phpList | Actively maintained | 879 | AGPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Sympa | Actively maintained | 316 | GPL-2.0 | – | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| HyperKitty | Maintained | 230 | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Postorius | Maintained | 94 | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Mailman | Health unknown | – | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| mlmmj | Health unknown | – | MIT | – | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| Schleuder | Health unknown | – | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Sendy | Health unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
The options in detail
1. Keila
Reliable and easy-to-use newsletter tool (alternative to Mailchimp and Sendinblue).
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-31. Latest release 0.40.1 (2026-10-31). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. Forward Email
Privacy-focused encrypted email for everyone. All-in-one (alternative to Gmail, Mailchimp, Sendgrid).
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-03. Latest release v2.18.13 (2026-11-02). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
3. Listmonk
High performance newsletter and mailing list manager with a modern dashboard.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-01. Latest release nightly (2026-11-02). Needs roughly 512 MB RAM. How to run it →
4. Mautic
Marketing automation software (email, social and more).
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-02. Latest release 7.2.2 (2026-10-26). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. Dittofeed
Omni-channel customer engagement and messaging automation platform (alternative to Braze, Customer.io, Iterable).
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-12. Latest release v0.24.0-alpha.21 (2026-10-04). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
6. phpList
Newsletter and email marketing with advanced management of subscribers, bounces, and plugins.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-19. Latest release v3.7.0-RC5 (2026-08-09). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
7. Sympa
Mailing list manager.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-08-14. Latest release 6.2.80 (2026-08-14). Needs roughly 512 MB RAM. How to run it →
8. HyperKitty
Access GNU Mailman v3 archives.
Maintained Last activity 2026-11-01. Latest release 1.3.12 (2024-09-21). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
9. Postorius
Web user interface to access GNU Mailman.
Maintained Last activity 2026-11-02. Latest release v1.3.13 (2024-09-21). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
10. Mailman
Manage electronic mail discussion and e-newsletter lists.
Health unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
11. mlmmj
Mailing list management made joyful.
Health unknown Needs roughly 512 MB RAM. How to run it →
12. Schleuder
GPG-enabled mailing list manager with resending-capabilities.
Health unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
13. Sendy
Email newsletter application that lets you send bulk emails via Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) or other SMTP services.
Health unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
Why self-host instead of Mailchimp?
- Own your data — it lives on a server you control, with backups you decide on.
- Predictable cost — a small VPS often replaces per-seat pricing for a whole team or family.
- No lock-in — open-source licenses let you keep running the software even if a vendor disappears.
The trade-off: you are responsible for updates, backups and security. Pick an app marked Actively maintained and with Docker support for the easiest ride.
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Other alternatives guides
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