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Marketing · head to head

Mautic vs RudderStack

Mautic logo

Mautic

Marketing

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RudderStack logo

RudderStack

Automation Integration

The open-source customer data platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; RudderStack on the free plan data processing stops after a second consecutive overage rather than being billed, so exceeding 250,000 events twice breaks the pipeline
  • They diverge on capability: Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, RudderStack covers Data collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mautic and RudderStack actually diverge.

Attributes where Mautic and RudderStack differ
AttributeMauticRudderStack
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, DockerWeb, Self-hosted
CategoryMarketingAutomation Integration
FoundedUnknown2018

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 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

Only in RudderStack

  • Data collection
  • Event tracking
  • Audience segmentation
  • Warehouse ingestion
  • Real-time sync
  • Data transformation
  • Privacy controls
  • 200+ destinations

What people use each for

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

Mautic

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

RudderStack

  • Collecting event data from apps and websites and routing it to warehouses and toolsnot Mautic
  • Building a warehouse first customer data pipelinenot Mautic

Where each one falls short

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

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.

RudderStack

  • On the free plan data processing stops after a second consecutive overage rather than being billed, so exceeding 250,000 events twice breaks the pipeline
  • The free plan allows 250,000 events a month
  • Growth starts at $265 a month for 1 million events, with volume sold in tiers up to 25 million
  • Overage is charged as the gap to the next tier's price rather than per event, so a small excess costs a full tier step

Pricing, plan by plan

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

RudderStack

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 250K events per month
    • 16 SDK sources
    • 200+ cloud destinations
  • Growth$265/month
    • 1 million events per month (up to 25 million available)
    • Unlimited team members
    • Tracking plans
  • Enterprise$null/mo
    • 5-minute warehouse sync
    • Unlimited transformations
    • Access to Profiles & Data Apps

Which should you pick?

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

Choose RudderStack if

  • You need data collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want event tracking.
RudderStack review

Questions people ask

Is Mautic or RudderStack better?
Neither clearly leads. Mautic starts at Free and RudderStack at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mautic or RudderStack?
Mautic starts at Free and RudderStack at Free.
Does Mautic or RudderStack run on more platforms?
Mautic runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker. RudderStack runs on Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Mautic for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Mautic best used for?
Mautic is most often used for a marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact saas pricing at scale, a european university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controls, a company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where saas per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budget, a team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do so. Of those, a marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact saas pricing at scale and a european university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controls are not what RudderStack is typically brought in for.
What can Mautic do that RudderStack cannot?
Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, Contact management and segmentation, Landing pages and forms, Lead scoring. RudderStack covers Data collection, Event tracking, Audience segmentation, Warehouse ingestion.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

RudderStack: What is RudderStack's free plan limit?

RudderStack's free plan includes 250K events per month with 16 SDK sources, 200+ cloud destinations, warehouse destinations, and Reverse ETL at no cost.

Source
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.

RudderStack: How much does RudderStack Growth plan cost?

RudderStack Growth plan costs $265 per month with annual billing discount available, providing 1 million events per month (up to 25 million available), unlimited team members, and 2 workspaces.

Source
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.

RudderStack: What happens if I exceed my RudderStack event limit?

On the free plan, data processing stops after your second consecutive overage. Paid plan customers face overage fees calculated as the difference between the next tier's pricing and their current plan.

Source
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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