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Email Marketing · head to head

SAP Emarsys vs Keila

SAP Emarsys logo

SAP Emarsys

Email Marketing

Retail-focused engagement platform now sold and contracted through SAP

From
On request
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

  • Only Keila has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: SAP Emarsys core modules including analytics, recommendations and loyalty are licensed separately, so the platform fee in the first quote is rarely the number you eventually sign.; 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.
  • They diverge on capability: SAP Emarsys covers Tactics library, Keila covers Priced by emails sent.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SAP Emarsys and Keila actually diverge.

Attributes where SAP Emarsys and Keila differ
AttributeSAP EmarsysKeila
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer month by emails sent
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, REST APIWeb, Linux, Self-hosted

Identical on both: 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 SAP Emarsys

  • Tactics library
  • Cross-channel campaigns
  • Smart Insight
  • Predict
  • Loyalty
  • SAP Commerce integration

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.

SAP Emarsys

  • A retailer that needs standard lifecycle programmes live in weeks rather than building them from scratchnot Keila
  • An SAP Commerce Cloud customer that wants engagement contracted on the same paper as the commerce platformnot Keila
  • Consolidating email, SMS, push and paid audience suppression for a catalogue retailernot Keila
  • Teams that want per-programme revenue reporting without building attribution logic themselvesnot 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 SAP Emarsys
  • A European publisher or public body that needs subscriber data held in the EU under a GDPR-friendly arrangementnot SAP Emarsys
  • A technical team that wants to self-host its newsletter tool and route sending through its existing AWS SES accountnot SAP Emarsys
  • An agency running several separate client lists that does not want to pay per project or per additional listnot SAP Emarsys

Where each one falls short

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

SAP Emarsys

  • Core modules including analytics, recommendations and loyalty are licensed separately, so the platform fee in the first quote is rarely the number you eventually sign.
  • Licensing counts stored contacts, so a database retained for years costs money every month regardless of whether those contacts are still mailable.
  • Since the SAP acquisition, contracting and support escalation follow SAP processes, which lengthens procurement noticeably for buyers who are not already SAP customers.
  • The product is built around retail patterns, so B2B, media and subscription use cases sit awkwardly on a data model designed for orders and products.
  • Implementation normally involves a partner and runs to a quarter, so the speed advantage of the tactics library only applies after the integration work is finished.

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

SAP Emarsys

On request
  • SAP Emarsys Customer Engagement$undefined/year
    • Licensed on stored contact volume with send allowances
    • Smart Insight, Predict and Loyalty modules licensed separately
    • Annual contract through SAP procurement

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 SAP Emarsys if

  • You need tactics library.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
  • You also want cross-channel campaigns.
SAP Emarsys 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 SAP Emarsys or Keila better?
Neither clearly leads. SAP Emarsys starts at On request and Keila at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SAP Emarsys or Keila?
Keila has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for SAP Emarsys and Free for Keila.
Does SAP Emarsys or Keila run on more platforms?
SAP Emarsys runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API. Keila runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
Can I use Keila for free?
Yes. Keila has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SAP Emarsys starts at On request.
What is SAP Emarsys best used for?
SAP Emarsys is most often used for a retailer that needs standard lifecycle programmes live in weeks rather than building them from scratch, an sap commerce cloud customer that wants engagement contracted on the same paper as the commerce platform, consolidating email, sms, push and paid audience suppression for a catalogue retailer, teams that want per-programme revenue reporting without building attribution logic themselves. Of those, a retailer that needs standard lifecycle programmes live in weeks rather than building them from scratch and an sap commerce cloud customer that wants engagement contracted on the same paper as the commerce platform are not what Keila is typically brought in for.
What can SAP Emarsys do that Keila cannot?
SAP Emarsys covers Tactics library, Cross-channel campaigns, Smart Insight, Predict. Keila covers Priced by emails sent, Bring your own sender, Self-hosting, EU hosting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SAP Emarsys: Do we need to be an SAP customer?

No, it is sold standalone. But the contracting, legal and support processes are SAP processes, which is a real cost for smaller buyers.

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.

SAP Emarsys: What is actually included in the base licence?

Contacts, channels and the tactics library. Smart Insight, Predict and Loyalty are commonly assumed to be included and are not.

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.

SAP Emarsys: Is it suited to B2B?

Not really. The data model and the tactic library assume retail orders, products and repeat purchase behaviour.

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.

Keila: Are there discounts?

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

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