Marketing · head to head
Countly 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: Countly the private cloud plan starts at $175 a month and is described as usage based without stating the unit; 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.
- They diverge on capability: Countly covers Event tracking, Listmonk covers Single binary deployment.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Countly and Listmonk actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Countly
- Event tracking
- Crash reporting
- Analytics dashboard
- User retention
- Open-source
- Cloud deployment
- On-premise deployment
- Web support
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.
Countly
- Product analytics for mobile and web applicationsnot Listmonk
- Self hosting analytics where data cannot leave the organisationnot 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 Countly
- A developer wants campaign audiences defined by an arbitrary SQL query against subscriber attributes, which no hosted segment builder will express.not Countly
- 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 Countly
- 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 Countly
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Countly
- The private cloud plan starts at $175 a month and is described as usage based without stating the unit
- No event cap, data point limit or user limit is published for either paid plan
- The self hosted Enterprise edition is custom priced and billed annually
- Adaptivity and intelligence features are separately priced add ons on the cheaper plan
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
Countly
Free- Flex (Private Cloud)$175/month
- Usage-based pricing (not seat-based)
- Advanced Analytics included
- Adaptivity and Intelligence available as add-ons
- Enterprise (Self-Hosted)$null/mo
- Custom pricing, requires demo booking
- All capabilities included
- Deploy on your infrastructure
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 Countly if
- You need event tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile, Api.
- You also want crash reporting.
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 Countly or Listmonk better?
- Neither clearly leads. Countly 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, Countly or Listmonk?
- Countly starts at Free and Listmonk at Free.
- Does Countly or Listmonk run on more platforms?
- Countly runs on Web, Mobile, Api. Listmonk runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows.
- Can I use Countly for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Countly best used for?
- Countly is most often used for product analytics for mobile and web applications, self hosting analytics where data cannot leave the organisation. Of those, product analytics for mobile and web applications and self hosting analytics where data cannot leave the organisation are not what Listmonk is typically brought in for.
- What can Countly do that Listmonk cannot?
- Countly covers Event tracking, Crash reporting, Analytics dashboard, User retention. Listmonk covers Single binary deployment, SQL segmentation, Multi-SMTP queues, Arbitrary subscriber attributes.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Countly: How much does Countly cost?
Countly's Flex plan (private cloud) starts at $175/month with pay-as-you-go cancellation. Enterprise (self-hosted) requires custom pricing and annual billing. Both plans include advanced analytics, and Flex offers a 14-day free trial.
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.
Countly: What is the difference between Countly Flex and Enterprise plans?
Flex uses usage-based pricing on Countly's cloud with monthly billing. Enterprise requires custom pricing and annual billing, but allows self-hosting on your infrastructure with zero vendor access to data, dedicated support, and included SLA.
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.
Countly: Can I add Adaptivity and Intelligence to Countly Flex?
Yes, Adaptivity and Intelligence suites can be added to Flex as needed. Both are included standard with Enterprise 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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