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Email Marketing · head to head

Listmonk vs Mautic

Listmonk logo

Listmonk

Email Marketing

Self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager that ships as a single Go binary

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mautic logo

Mautic

Marketing

The main open source marketing automation platform, self-hosted and GPL licensed

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Mautic mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • They diverge on capability: Listmonk covers Single binary deployment, Mautic covers Visual campaign builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Listmonk and Mautic actually diverge.

Attributes where Listmonk and Mautic differ
AttributeListmonkMautic
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux, macOS, WindowsWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker
CategoryEmail MarketingMarketing

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 Listmonk

  • Single binary deployment
  • SQL segmentation
  • Multi-SMTP queues
  • Arbitrary subscriber attributes
  • Go templating
  • Transactional API
  • Bounce processing
  • Messenger webhooks

Only in Mautic

  • Visual campaign builder
  • Contact management and segmentation
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Lead scoring
  • Dynamic web content
  • Email builder and A/B testing
  • Self-hosted data control
  • No feature gating

What people use each for

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

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 Mautic
  • A developer wants campaign audiences defined by an arbitrary SQL query against subscriber attributes, which no hosted segment builder will express.not Mautic
  • 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 Mautic
  • 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 Mautic

Mautic

  • A marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact SaaS pricing at scalenot Listmonk
  • A European university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controlsnot Listmonk
  • A company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where SaaS per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budgetnot Listmonk
  • A team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do sonot Listmonk

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Mautic

  • Mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • Email sending is not included: you must arrange, pay for and warm up your own sending infrastructure through Amazon SES, SendGrid or similar, and deliverability problems become entirely your problem with no vendor to escalate to.
  • Acquia owns the commercial descendant, Campaign Studio, and is the largest contributor, so the loudest commercial interest in the ecosystem benefits from a hosted product rather than from the self-hosted one being easy.
  • Upgrades between major versions have historically been disruptive, requiring database migrations and plugin compatibility checks, so a neglected instance can become expensive to bring current.
  • The interface and the reporting are noticeably behind commercial platforms, so marketing teams that came from HubSpot or ActiveCampaign will find everyday tasks slower and will need training.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Mautic

Free
  • Self-hosted communityFree
    • GPL licensed, no licence fee and no contact limits
    • All features included, no paid edition
    • You provide hosting, database, cron scheduling and email sending
  • Managed Mautic hosting$undefined/month
    • Third-party managed hosting listed by the project
    • Updates, backups and cron scheduling handled for you
    • Pricing varies by provider and is not set by the project

Which should you pick?

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.
Listmonk review

Choose Mautic if

  • You need visual campaign builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want contact management and segmentation.
Mautic review

Questions people ask

Is Listmonk or Mautic better?
Neither clearly leads. Listmonk starts at Free and Mautic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Listmonk or Mautic?
Listmonk starts at Free and Mautic at Free.
Does Listmonk or Mautic run on more platforms?
Listmonk runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows. Mautic runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use Listmonk for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Listmonk best used for?
Listmonk is most often used for 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., a developer wants campaign audiences defined by an arbitrary sql query against subscriber attributes, which no hosted segment builder will express., an organisation under privacy or data residency rules needs subscriber data to stay on infrastructure it controls, which rules out every hosted newsletter platform., 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.. Of those, 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. and a developer wants campaign audiences defined by an arbitrary sql query against subscriber attributes, which no hosted segment builder will express. are not what Mautic is typically brought in for.
What can Listmonk do that Mautic cannot?
Listmonk covers Single binary deployment, SQL segmentation, Multi-SMTP queues, Arbitrary subscriber attributes. Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, Contact management and segmentation, Landing pages and forms, Lead scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Listmonk: 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.

Mautic: Is Mautic free?

Yes, GPL licensed with no licence fee and no contact limits. You pay for hosting, email sending and the staff time to maintain it.

Listmonk: 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.

Mautic: Does Acquia own Mautic?

Acquia acquired the founding commercial entity in 2019 and sells Campaign Studio built on it, but the Mautic trademark sits with the Open Source Collective and the project is community governed.

Listmonk: What licence is it under?

AGPLv3, which requires you to publish modifications if you offer it as a network service to others.

Mautic: What breaks most often?

Cron scheduling. If segment rebuilding and campaign triggers are not running on schedule, campaigns quietly stop sending with no alert.

Listmonk: Is there an official hosted version?

No. Some unaffiliated providers offer managed Listmonk, but the maintainer does not run a hosted service.

Mautic: Can it handle large contact lists?

Yes, but performance at several hundred thousand contacts depends on database tuning and queue configuration, which is work you must do yourself.

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