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Email Marketing · head to head

EmailOctopus vs Keila

EmailOctopus logo

EmailOctopus

Email Marketing

Affordable email marketing

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Keila logo

Keila

Email Marketing

AGPL newsletter tool from Germany, self-hostable or hosted in the EU with no free plan

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: EmailOctopus free tier limited to 2,500 subscribers; Keila there is no free hosted plan at all, stated as deliberate policy, so unlike almost every competitor there is no way to run a small list at zero cost without self-hosting it yourself.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which EmailOctopus and Keila actually diverge.

Attributes where EmailOctopus and Keila differ
AttributeEmailOctopusKeila
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month by emails sent
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux, Self-hosted

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 EmailOctopus

Nothing recorded that Keila does not also cover.

Only in Keila

  • Priced by emails sent
  • Bring your own sender
  • Self-hosting
  • EU hosting
  • Sign-up forms
  • Segmentation
  • Markdown and block editor
  • Multiple projects

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

EmailOctopus

  • Building email lists with unlimited landing pagesnot Keila
  • Team collaboration on email campaignsnot Keila
  • Automated subscriber onboarding flowsnot Keila
  • Multi-user email campaign managementnot Keila

Keila

  • A membership organisation holding forty thousand contacts but sending only one newsletter a month, where contact-metered pricing would cost many times morenot EmailOctopus
  • A European publisher or public body that needs subscriber data held in the EU under a GDPR-friendly arrangementnot EmailOctopus
  • A technical team that wants to self-host its newsletter tool and route sending through its existing AWS SES accountnot EmailOctopus
  • An agency running several separate client lists that does not want to pay per project or per additional listnot EmailOctopus

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

EmailOctopus

  • Free tier limited to 2,500 subscribers
  • Free tier requires EmailOctopus branding on emails
  • Free tier reports only retained 30 days

Keila

  • There is no free hosted plan at all, stated as deliberate policy, so unlike almost every competitor there is no way to run a small list at zero cost without self-hosting it yourself.
  • Marketing automation is minimal, with none of the behavioural triggers, journey builders or e-commerce revenue attribution that Klaviyo, Brevo and Mailchimp treat as table stakes.
  • The self-hosted route puts deliverability entirely on you: reputation, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, warm-up and bounce handling are your problem, and a badly configured instance will land in spam folders.
  • It is a small project from a small company, so the integration ecosystem is thin and there is no partner network, template marketplace or large body of community expertise to draw on.
  • Email volume tiers step in fixed blocks, so an organisation whose sending is uneven across the year either overbuys at the annual peak or has to change plan repeatedly.

Pricing, plan by plan

EmailOctopus

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Up to 2,500 subscribers
    • 10,000 monthly emails
    • 1 user account
  • Pro$9/month
    • Unlimited subscribers
    • 10,000 monthly emails
    • Unlimited user accounts

Keila

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • AGPL-3.0-or-later licence with no fee
    • Official Docker image and sample compose file
    • You supply hosting and a sending backend
  • Keila XS$8/month
    • Two thousand emails per month
    • Unlimited contacts and projects
    • Send with Keila or bring your own email server
  • Keila M$32/month
    • Fifteen thousand emails per month
    • Unlimited contacts and projects
    • Sign-up forms and segmentation
  • Keila XXL$256/month
    • Two hundred and fifty thousand emails per month
    • Unlimited contacts and projects
    • Intermediate tiers at 16, 64 and 128 EUR for 5,000, 50,000 and 100,000 emails

Which should you pick?

Choose EmailOctopus if

  • You want to start without paying.
EmailOctopus review

Choose Keila if

  • You need priced by emails sent.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want bring your own sender.
Keila review

Questions people ask

Is EmailOctopus or Keila better?
Neither clearly leads. EmailOctopus starts at Free and Keila at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, EmailOctopus or Keila?
EmailOctopus starts at Free and Keila at Free.
Does EmailOctopus or Keila run on more platforms?
EmailOctopus runs on Web. Keila runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
Can I use EmailOctopus for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is EmailOctopus best used for?
EmailOctopus is most often used for building email lists with unlimited landing pages, team collaboration on email campaigns, automated subscriber onboarding flows, multi-user email campaign management. Of those, building email lists with unlimited landing pages and team collaboration on email campaigns are not what Keila is typically brought in for.
What can EmailOctopus do that Keila cannot?
Keila covers Priced by emails sent, Bring your own sender, Self-hosting, EU hosting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

EmailOctopus: Is there a free version of EmailOctopus?

Yes, EmailOctopus offers a free plan supporting up to 2,500 subscribers with 10,000 monthly emails. The free tier includes EmailOctopus branding on emails and reports are retained for only 30 days. The Pro plan starts at $9/month for unlimited subscribers.

Source
Keila: Is Keila free?

The software is, under AGPL-3.0-or-later, if you self-host. The hosted service has no free plan by deliberate policy and starts at 8 EUR a month.

EmailOctopus: What discount does EmailOctopus offer for annual billing?

EmailOctopus offers 10% savings when you pay annually versus monthly. Nonprofits receive an additional 20% lifetime discount on all plans.

Source
Keila: How is the hosted service priced?

By emails sent, from 8 EUR for two thousand up to 256 EUR for two hundred and fifty thousand a month. Contacts and projects are unlimited on every tier.

EmailOctopus: Are there any long-term contracts required?

No, EmailOctopus has no long-term contracts. You can cancel your plan anytime and switch between monthly and yearly billing options.

Source
Keila: Can I use my own email provider?

Yes. AWS SES, Sendgrid, Mailgun, Postmark, generic SMTP or a personal inbox are all supported as sending backends.

EmailOctopus: How many users can access one EmailOctopus account?

The free Starter plan includes 1 user. The Pro plan includes unlimited user accounts at no additional cost.

Source
Keila: Are there discounts?

Pentacent offers reduced rates to nonprofits and open source projects on request.

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