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Email Marketing · head to head

Keila vs Mailjet

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
Mailjet logo

Mailjet

Email Marketing

Email API, SMTP relay and campaign platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Mailjet free plan caps at 6,000 emails per month with a hard 200 emails per day limit
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Keila and Mailjet actually diverge.

Attributes where Keila and Mailjet differ
AttributeKeilaMailjet
Pricing modelPer month by emails sentsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Self-hostedWeb

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 Keila

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

Only in Mailjet

Nothing recorded that Keila does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Keila

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

Mailjet

  • Email marketing campaigns for small to medium-sized businessesnot Keila
  • Transactional email delivery with API and SMTP relaynot Keila

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Mailjet

  • Free plan caps at 6,000 emails per month with a hard 200 emails per day limit
  • Starter plan is capped at 2,000 contacts; unlimited contacts require the Essential tier
  • Email credits do not roll over and unused emails expire at the end of each billing cycle
  • Essential and Premium plans both cap at 15,000 emails per month for $17 and $27 respectively, so the price increase buys other features, not more volume

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Mailjet

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 6,000 emails per month
    • 200 emails per day limit
    • 1,000 contacts
  • Starter$9/monthly
    • 8,000 emails per month
    • 2,000 contacts
    • Brand Kit
  • Essential$17/monthly
    • 15,000 emails per month
    • Unlimited contacts
    • Segmentation
  • Premium$27/monthly
    • 15,000 emails per month
    • Advanced statistics
    • Automations

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Mailjet if

  • You want to start without paying.
Mailjet review

Questions people ask

Is Keila or Mailjet better?
Neither clearly leads. Keila starts at Free and Mailjet at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Keila or Mailjet?
Keila starts at Free and Mailjet at Free.
Does Keila or Mailjet run on more platforms?
Keila runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted. Mailjet runs on Web.
Can I use Keila for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Keila best used for?
Keila is most often used for a membership organisation holding forty thousand contacts but sending only one newsletter a month, where contact-metered pricing would cost many times more, a european publisher or public body that needs subscriber data held in the eu under a gdpr-friendly arrangement, a technical team that wants to self-host its newsletter tool and route sending through its existing aws ses account, an agency running several separate client lists that does not want to pay per project or per additional list. Of those, a membership organisation holding forty thousand contacts but sending only one newsletter a month, where contact-metered pricing would cost many times more and a european publisher or public body that needs subscriber data held in the eu under a gdpr-friendly arrangement are not what Mailjet is typically brought in for.
What can Keila do that Mailjet cannot?
Keila covers Priced by emails sent, Bring your own sender, Self-hosting, EU hosting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Mailjet: Does Mailjet offer annual billing discounts?

Yes, Mailjet offers annual billing with a 10% discount compared to monthly billing. Both monthly and annual payment cycles are available for all paid 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.

Mailjet: What payment currencies are supported?

Mailjet accepts payments in USD, EUR, and GBP. Currency selection is available during account setup and can be changed in account settings.

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.

Mailjet: What features are limited on the Free plan?

The Free plan includes 6,000 emails per month with a 200 email per day limit, 1,000 contacts, basic statistics, form builder, and APIs. Advanced statistics, automations, landing pages, and team management require paid plans.

Source
Keila: Are there discounts?

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

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