Email Marketing · head to head
Listmonk vs Omnisend
Listmonk
Email Marketing
Self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager that ships as a single Go binary
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Omnisend
Email Marketing
Email, SMS and push marketing automation for ecommerce
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
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.; Omnisend free plan caps at 250 contacts and 500 emails per month
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Listmonk and Omnisend actually diverge.
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 Listmonk
- Single binary deployment
- SQL segmentation
- Multi-SMTP queues
- Arbitrary subscriber attributes
- Go templating
- Transactional API
- Bounce processing
- Messenger webhooks
Only in Omnisend
Nothing recorded that Listmonk does not also cover.
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 Omnisend
- A developer wants campaign audiences defined by an arbitrary SQL query against subscriber attributes, which no hosted segment builder will express.not Omnisend
- 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 Omnisend
- 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 Omnisend
Omnisend
- Sending cart abandonment recovery emails with product recommendationsnot Listmonk
- Segmenting customers by purchase history for targeted SMS campaignsnot Listmonk
- Creating browse abandonment sequences triggered by browsing behaviornot Listmonk
- Generating personalized product recommendations in email messagesnot 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.
Omnisend
- Free plan caps at 250 contacts and 500 emails per month
- Standard plan is limited to 500 contacts and 6,000 emails per month before an upgrade is required
- SMS is billed separately starting at $0.007 per message and varies by country and volume
- Custom pricing only begins above 150,001 contacts, requiring a sales conversation at that scale
Pricing, plan by plan
Listmonk
Free- Self-hostedFree
- Full AGPLv3 source
- Unlimited subscribers and campaigns
- No feature gating and no send limits in the software
- Third-party managed hosting$undefined/month
- Several unaffiliated providers offer hosted Listmonk
- No official hosted service from the maintainer
- Prices vary by provider and are not published centrally
Omnisend
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 250 contacts
- 500 emails/month
- 500 web push/month
- Standard$11.2/month
- Up to 500 contacts
- 6,000 emails/month (12x list size)
- Unlimited web push
- Pro$41.3/month
- Up to 2,500 contacts
- Unlimited emails
- Unlimited web push
- Custom$undefined/mo
- 150,001+ contacts
- Custom pricing with dedicated account expert
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Listmonk or Omnisend better?
- Neither clearly leads. Listmonk starts at Free and Omnisend at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Listmonk or Omnisend?
- Listmonk starts at Free and Omnisend at Free.
- Does Listmonk or Omnisend run on more platforms?
- Listmonk runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows. Omnisend runs on Web.
- 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 Omnisend is typically brought in for.
- What can Listmonk do that Omnisend cannot?
- Listmonk covers Single binary deployment, SQL segmentation, Multi-SMTP queues, Arbitrary subscriber attributes.
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.
Omnisend: What is Omnisend's pricing model?
Omnisend uses contact-based tiered pricing. Free plan includes 250 contacts, Standard tier covers 500 contacts at $11.20/month, Pro tier covers 2,500 contacts at $41.30/month. Monthly or 3-month subscriptions available with 30% discount on quarterly billing.
SourceListmonk: 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.
Omnisend: Does Omnisend charge for SMS?
Yes, SMS is an add-on with volume-based pricing starting at $0.007 per message for orders of 10,000+ messages, up to $0.009 per message for smaller volumes.
SourceListmonk: What licence is it under?
AGPLv3, which requires you to publish modifications if you offer it as a network service to others.
Omnisend: Is there a free version of Omnisend?
Omnisend offers a free tier for up to 250 contacts with 500 emails/month, 500 web push/month, and basic automation features.
SourceListmonk: Is there an official hosted version?
No. Some unaffiliated providers offer managed Listmonk, but the maintainer does not run a hosted service.
Omnisend: What is included in the Pro plan?
The Pro plan at $41.30/month covers up to 2,500 contacts with unlimited emails, unlimited web push, AI personalization, and SMS starting at $0.007 per message.
SourceRelated pages
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