Newsletter publishing
recurring email campaigns to subscribers
// official site: listmonk.app ↗
MAIL · PRO TIER
Listmonkpro
Listmonk is a self-hosted newsletter and email campaign manager — high-performance Go binary, Postgres-backed, with double opt-in, segmented lists, A/B testing, transactional email API. The OSS replacement for Mailchimp at a fraction of the cost.
// What it is
A closer look.
Listmonk is a self-hosted newsletter and email campaign manager — high-performance Go binary, Postgres-backed, with double opt-in, segmented lists, A/B testing, transactional email API. The OSS replacement for Mailchimp at a fraction of the cost.
For email marketers running 10k+ subscriber lists, the math of self-hosted Listmonk on a $10/mo VPS beats Mailchimp's $300/mo for the same list size.
// Use cases
What it's for.
Concrete scenarios where teams pick Listmonk over the SaaS alternative.
Transactional email
API for sending order confirmations, password resets
Segmented marketing
target sub-segments of your list
A/B testing
campaign variant testing for optimization
Double opt-in compliance
GDPR / CAN-SPAM compliant subscriber management
// Who it's for
Built for these teams.
If your team profile matches one of these, Listmonk is a strong fit out of the box.
Indie newsletter publishers
(Substack alternative for self-host)
SaaS marketing teams
running cost-conscious email campaigns
Agencies
managing client email infrastructure
Privacy-bound orgs
keeping subscriber data on-prem
OSS / community maintainers
running newsletters for project updates
// Differentiators
Why teams pick Listmonk.
When evaluating self-hosted options for this category, here are the dimensions on which Listmonk consistently lands above the alternatives.
- ✓AGPLv3 — fully open
- ✓High performance — Go binary handles 100k+ subscribers easily
- ✓Self-host parity — no feature gating
- ✓Multi-list / multi-campaign — proper data model
- ✓Templating — Liquid templates for dynamic content
- ✓API for transactional — same instance for marketing + transactional
// Integrations
Connects to.
The stack you'll plug Listmonk into — services, protocols, and adjacent apps in the BluixApps catalog.
◇
SMTP providers
Resend, SendGrid, Mailgun, Amazon SES, Postmark, custom SMTP
◈
Webhook destinations
fire on subscriber events
◆
Bounce handling
Amazon SNS, SendGrid bounce webhooks
▣
Auth
local + OAuth (Google, GitHub, custom OIDC)
▦
List import / export
CSV bulk operations
▩
Postgres
primary data store
▼
Templates
Liquid templating language
// Adoption & deployment
Notable users & community
- 14k+ GitHub stars
- Used by indie publishers, SaaS marketing teams, non-profits
- Active Discord community
- Backed by single dedicated maintainer (Kailash Nadh) — sustainable
- Featured in Mailchimp-alternative roundups
What we ship
- Docker compose: Listmonk + Postgres
- Pinned
listmonk/listmonk:v4.1.0(release-tagged) - HTTPS via Let's Encrypt
- Admin user via env config
- Persistent Postgres
- SMTP relay config templated for major providers (Resend, SES, Mailgun)
- Backup hook covers Postgres (subscribers + campaigns)
// Tips & operations
Run it properly.
Operational guidance from running this in production — what to lock down, what surprises people.
// PERFORMANCE
Use Amazon SES or Resend for delivery
direct SMTP from VPS has poor reputation
// SECURITY
Configure SPF + DKIM + DMARC
without these, emails go to spam
// OPERATIONS
Bounce handling automated
set up SNS / SendGrid webhooks early
// RELIABILITY
Persist Postgres
subscribers + campaigns + bounces all here
// DEPLOYMENT
Mind volume + rate
most providers cap send rate; tune campaigns accordingly
// SCALING
Backup is critical
your subscriber list is your asset
512
// min ram (MB)
5
// min disk (GB)
9000
// access port
http
// protocol
pro
// bluixapps tier
// Alternatives in Mail
Compare with
Project resources
Official sitelistmonk.app ↗