Email Marketing · head to head
Brevo vs Listmonk
Listmonk
Email Marketing
Self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager that ships as a single Go binary
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Brevo paid plans are priced by email volume sent per month, with higher tiers running past $100 per month as list and send volume grows; Listmonk it is not an email service provider. It hands mail to SMTP servers you configure and does nothing about IP warm-up, domain reputation, DKIM, DMARC or inbox placement, so deliverability failures are entirely yours to diagnose and fix.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Brevo and Listmonk actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Email Marketing).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Brevo
Nothing recorded that Listmonk does not also cover.
Only in Listmonk
- Single binary deployment
- SQL segmentation
- Multi-SMTP queues
- Arbitrary subscriber attributes
- Go templating
- Transactional API
- Bounce processing
- Messenger webhooks
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Brevo
- Email marketing campaigns with drag-and-drop editornot Listmonk
- SMS and WhatsApp multichannel messagingnot Listmonk
- Customer loyalty program managementnot Listmonk
- Transactional email and API-triggered messagingnot Listmonk
Listmonk
- A publisher with hundreds of thousands of subscribers faces a five-figure annual bill from a hosted provider and can send the same volume through Amazon SES for a fraction of it.not Brevo
- A developer wants campaign audiences defined by an arbitrary SQL query against subscriber attributes, which no hosted segment builder will express.not Brevo
- An organisation under privacy or data residency rules needs subscriber data to stay on infrastructure it controls, which rules out every hosted newsletter platform.not Brevo
- An open source project or nonprofit needs a mailing list tool with no per-subscriber cost, where the list will grow faster than any budget for it.not Brevo
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Brevo
- Paid plans are priced by email volume sent per month, with higher tiers running past $100 per month as list and send volume grows
Listmonk
- It is not an email service provider. It hands mail to SMTP servers you configure and does nothing about IP warm-up, domain reputation, DKIM, DMARC or inbox placement, so deliverability failures are entirely yours to diagnose and fix.
- Running it means running PostgreSQL, backups, upgrades and a mail relay, and the true cost is the engineering time to keep that stack healthy rather than the zero licence fee.
- The campaign editor and analytics are basic next to Mailchimp or Klaviyo: reporting is limited to opens, clicks and bounces, with no revenue attribution, no ecommerce integration and no deep engagement scoring.
- SQL-based segmentation puts audience definition beyond a non-technical marketer, so a marketing team without engineering support will be blocked on routine tasks.
- The AGPLv3 licence obliges you to release source modifications if you offer the software as a network service, which is a real constraint for anyone considering embedding it in a commercial product.
Pricing, plan by plan
Brevo
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Brevo review.
Listmonk
Free- Self-hostedFree
- Full AGPLv3 source
- Unlimited subscribers and campaigns
- No feature gating and no send limits in the software
- Third-party managed hosting$undefined/month
- Several unaffiliated providers offer hosted Listmonk
- No official hosted service from the maintainer
- Prices vary by provider and are not published centrally
Which should you pick?
Choose Listmonk if
- You need single binary deployment.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows.
- You also want sql segmentation.
Questions people ask
- Is Brevo or Listmonk better?
- Neither clearly leads. Brevo starts at Free and Listmonk at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Brevo or Listmonk?
- Brevo starts at Free and Listmonk at Free.
- Does Brevo or Listmonk run on more platforms?
- Brevo runs on Web. Listmonk runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows.
- Can I use Brevo for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Brevo best used for?
- Brevo is most often used for email marketing campaigns with drag-and-drop editor, sms and whatsapp multichannel messaging, customer loyalty program management, transactional email and api-triggered messaging. Of those, email marketing campaigns with drag-and-drop editor and sms and whatsapp multichannel messaging are not what Listmonk is typically brought in for.
- What can Brevo do that Listmonk cannot?
- Listmonk covers Single binary deployment, SQL segmentation, Multi-SMTP queues, Arbitrary subscriber attributes.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Brevo: Does Brevo offer a free plan?
Yes, Brevo offers a free tier with no credit card required. You can launch marketing campaigns, access templates, and use basic automation without paying.
SourceListmonk: Does Listmonk send my emails?
No. It composes, queues and tracks campaigns, then hands the messages to SMTP servers you provide, such as Amazon SES, Postmark or your own relay.
Brevo: What pricing model does Brevo use?
Brevo uses a freemium model. No specific pricing rates are published on their main website. Users must navigate to the pricing page or contact sales to see tiered pricing based on email volume and features needed.
SourceListmonk: What does it cost to run?
The software is free. The real cost is a small server, a PostgreSQL database and per-email SMTP charges, which through SES are a fraction of hosted newsletter pricing at large list sizes.
Brevo: What channels does Brevo support?
Brevo supports email, SMS, WhatsApp, web and mobile push notifications, live chat, chatbot, wallet, phone, and transactional messaging across all plans.
SourceListmonk: What licence is it under?
AGPLv3, which requires you to publish modifications if you offer it as a network service to others.
Listmonk: Is there an official hosted version?
No. Some unaffiliated providers offer managed Listmonk, but the maintainer does not run a hosted service.
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