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Email Marketing · head to head

Keila vs Signal

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
Signal logo

Signal

Communication

Speak Freely

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.; Signal signal must be installed on a phone before the desktop app can be used, so there is no phone-free desktop-only account
  • They diverge on capability: Keila covers Priced by emails sent, Signal covers End-to-end encryption.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Keila and Signal actually diverge.

Attributes where Keila and Signal differ
AttributeKeilaSignal
Pricing modelPer month by emails sentfree
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Self-hostedWindows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android
CategoryEmail MarketingCommunication
FoundedUnknown2010

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 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 Signal

  • End-to-end encryption
  • Disappearing messages
  • Screen security
  • Group chats
  • Voice calls
  • Video calls
  • File sharing
  • No data collection

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 Signal
  • A European publisher or public body that needs subscriber data held in the EU under a GDPR-friendly arrangementnot Signal
  • A technical team that wants to self-host its newsletter tool and route sending through its existing AWS SES accountnot Signal
  • An agency running several separate client lists that does not want to pay per project or per additional listnot Signal

Signal

  • Private messagingnot Keila
  • Secure group communicationnot Keila
  • Confidential conversationsnot Keila
  • Journalism communicationnot Keila
  • Family messagingnot 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.

Signal

  • Signal must be installed on a phone before the desktop app can be used, so there is no phone-free desktop-only account

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

Signal

Free
  • FreeFree
    • End-to-end encrypted messaging
    • Voice and video calls
    • Group chats

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 Signal if

  • You need end-to-end encryption.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android.
  • You also want disappearing messages.
Signal review

Questions people ask

Is Keila or Signal better?
Neither clearly leads. Keila starts at Free and Signal at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Keila or Signal?
Keila starts at Free and Signal at Free.
Does Keila or Signal run on more platforms?
Keila runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted. Signal runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android.
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 Signal is typically brought in for.
What can Keila do that Signal cannot?
Keila covers Priced by emails sent, Bring your own sender, Self-hosting, EU hosting. Signal covers End-to-end encryption, Disappearing messages, Screen security, Group chats.

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.

Signal: How much does Signal cost?

Signal is free for everyone. The messaging app is supported by grants and donations, not user fees, and is maintained by an independent nonprofit that is not tied to any major tech companies.

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.

Signal: Does Signal have ads?

No. Signal is ad-free and does not collect advertising revenue.

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.

Keila: Are there discounts?

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

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