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# Top 10 Self-Hosted Email Marketing Tools for Businesses
Email marketing remains a powerful channel – Statista notes there were about 4.26 billion email users in 2022, set to grow to 4.73 billion by 2026 – so getting it right is crucial. For businesses wary of recurring SaaS fees or privacy risks, self-hosted email platforms offer complete control over your data and delivery. Below are the leading self-hosted email marketing tools, including popular open-source options and commercial scripts. (For a primer on crafting effective campaigns, see Mailmodo’s email marketing guide).
## 1. Relayzo – The All-in-One Self-Hosted Solution
Relayzo is a newer entrant built specifically for self-hosted marketing. It touts AI-powered automation and a full campaign suite on your server. According to Relayzo, its platform gives businesses “complete control of the [email marketing](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/email-marketing/) infrastructure” with “zero monthly fees or third-party data risk.” It includes AI-driven planning (even suggesting subject lines and content ideas to boost engagement), drag-and-drop email builders, and smart workflow triggers. In short, Relayzo markets itself as an all-in-one platform with advanced analytics and audience segmentation, but hosted on your own VPS. This means high customization and data ownership – ideal if you want AI features without sharing your list with a cloud provider.
## 2. Sendy – Cost-Effective SES-Based Tool
Sendy is a mature PHP application that works with Amazon SES for sending. It’s known for very low cost, charging about $1 per 10,000 emails sent (plus a one-time license fee). This makes Sendy one of the most affordable solutions: you simply host the PHP app yourself and configure it to use AWS SES (or SMTP). Sendy provides a simple editor for HTML or plain-text campaigns, basic autoresponders, and opens/click tracking. It lacks flashy features, but for straightforward newsletters or drip sequences, it “just works” and keeps overhead tiny. The trade-off is you’ll need some technical comfort with AWS SES (getting approved can take time) and it doesn’t have the advanced segmentation or no-code templates of cloud tools. But for pure budget-friendly sending and solid deliverability, Sendy is hard to beat.
## 3. Mautic – Flexible Open-Source Marketing Automation
Mautic is a full-featured open-source marketing automation suite (now backed by Acquia) that includes email campaign management among many other channels. It offers complex segmentation, drip campaigns, lead scoring, and detailed tracking – essentially everything you get in a SaaS platform like HubSpot, but self-hosted. As one review puts it, “Mautic is an open-source marketing automation platform that offers tools beyond email marketing, such as campaign management, website tracking, SMS marketing, and beyond.”. This flexibility makes it a favorite for technically skilled teams who want to build sophisticated funnels. The downside is complexity: installing Mautic and managing it takes some effort (it uses PHP/Doctrine and often requires server tuning). Beginners may find the learning curve steep, but for power users it can be customized extensively (custom fields, integration with CRMs, etc.).
## 4. Mailtrain – Simple Node.js Newsletter Manager
Mailtrain is a lightweight, self-hosted newsletter app written in Node.js. It provides the basics: subscriber list management, email campaigns, templates, and analytics. One reviewer describes Mailtrain as “a self-hosted newsletter app… focusing on simplicity and essential features. It’s incredibly barebones, but it just works.”. In practice, you can import subscribers, create segments, and send HTML emails (using Mailgun or SMTP) with Mailtrain. It has a clean interface and handles basics well, but integrations are limited and it lacks some automation features. Mailtrain is a good choice if you want a fast, no-frills tool that you can set up quickly, and you don’t need advanced automations.
## 5. phpList – Mature Open-Source Email Platform
phpList is a veteran in the open-source email world. It’s a PHP/MySQL system focused solely on newsletters and list management. phpList is very stable and widely used, with a large community. As one source notes, “phpList is a mature open-source email marketing software… one of the older options on this list, but it’s tried and true. If you want something that just works, phpList is a good option.”. You can send out batch campaigns and autoresponders, track opens/clicks, and handle bounces. The interface is a bit dated, but it does include important features like bounce management, list segmentation, and user opt-in/opt-out handling. Because it’s older, phpList doesn’t offer fancy drag-and-drop design or built-in marketing automation, but it does reliably send newsletters at scale. It’s an especially good pick if you prefer proven open-source tools and don’t mind setting things up manually.
## 6. Listmonk – Fast Go-Based High-Volume Sender
Listmonk is a newcomer written in Go (with a Vue.js frontend). It’s built for speed and performance. The developers designed it to handle millions of subscribers efficiently with minimal resources. Listmonk includes modern features: list management, dynamic segmentation, campaign scheduling, and an elegant UI. One review notes that Listmonk “is the open source self-hosted newsletter manager built with Go and Vue.js… by far the most modern option,” though still under active development. Because it’s in early stages, you may encounter occasional rough edges, but its high throughput is impressive. Listmonk is ideal if you need a fast engine for large lists and are comfortable with some technical setup (it requires PostgreSQL and knowledge of Go-environment deployment). Its UI is slick and mobile-friendly, giving more modern usability than many older open-source tools.
## 7. Postal – Open-Source Mail Delivery Server
Postal isn’t an all-in-one marketing suite out of the box; it’s an open-source email delivery platform (like hosting your own SendGrid or Mailgun). It’s primarily built for transactional emails (OTP, alerts, etc.), but it can be repurposed for marketing sends if you build or integrate a campaign frontend. Postal provides a full mail server stack: a web interface, API, and features like multiple IP pools, analytics dashboards, and deliverability controls. As the official site says, Postal is “a fully featured mail delivery platform… Think SendGrid, Mailgun or Postmark but open source and ready for you to run on your own servers.”. In practice, developers use Postal to gain tight control over sending (connect to various SMTP relays, bounce management, etc.) and then plug in a newsletter tool on top. If you’re comfortable with mail servers and need absolute control of infrastructure, Postal + a frontend (or a custom workflow) can work – but it lacks a built-in drag-and-drop editor, so it’s more developer-centric.
## 8. MoonMail (Self-Hosted Edition) – Serverless AWS Newsletter Tool
MoonMail started as a serverless email platform. There is an open-source edition you can self-host, especially geared to use with Amazon SES. MoonMail supports list management, bulk campaigns, and analytics out of the box. According to the documentation, “MoonMail is an open source newsletter tool… [allowing] bulk emailing via Amazon SES. Users can create & edit lists… send email marketing campaigns and view analytics.”. In other words, it gives you a cloud-like experience on your own, using AWS under the hood. A plus is its modern features (e.g. campaign scheduling, open/click tracking) and a React-based UI. The downside is cost: MoonMail offers hosted plans (starting at about $59/month for a 50k-contact Lite tier), which can be steeper than free open-source tools. However, if you want a relatively easy-to-use interface with SES delivery and you don’t mind the license cost, MoonMail is worth considering.
## 9. MailWizz – PHP Powerhouse for Agencies
MailWizz is a commercial-grade PHP platform sold on CodeCanyon (one-time license). It’s designed for high-volume sending and multi-client use, making it popular with agencies. As a reviewer notes, “MailWizz is a self-hosted email marketing software designed for businesses needing to manage large-scale email campaigns.”. It includes campaign scheduling, autoresponders, list segmentation, built-in bounce/complaint handlers, and detailed reports (real-time stats, geolocation maps, etc.). Notably, MailWizz supports multi-threaded sending and integrates with SMTP services like Amazon SES, Mailgun, SendGrid and more. This means it can push out hundreds of thousands of emails quickly. The trade-off is that it isn’t free: a regular MailWizz license costs about $89 (one-time). Still, even with that fee, it’s often much cheaper long-term than equivalent SaaS bills, especially if managing multiple brands or domains.
## 10. SendPortal – Laravel-Based Newsletter Manager
SendPortal is an open-source Laravel application for email campaigns. It bills itself as “Open-source self-hosted email marketing. Manage your own newsletters at a fraction of the cost.”. In practice, SendPortal offers subscriber/list management, campaign creation with a simple template editor, and tracking (opens, clicks, bounces). It also supports multiple workspaces so different teams or client accounts can be handled separately. The website highlights a “beautiful interface” and “unlimited everything” (unlimited users, lists, segments). Being Laravel-based, it is easy for PHP developers to install via Composer or Docker. It’s not as feature-rich as MailWizz or Mautic, but it’s very user-friendly and free to use. Agencies often like SendPortal for white-label ease and its modern UI, though you should be comfortable running Laravel apps.
Note: In addition to the above, other self-hosted solutions exist. For example, Acelle Mail is another popular PHP/Laravel option (marketed on CodeCanyon) with drag-and-drop builders. The venerable OpenEMM (Java-based) is an enterprise-level open-source email suite used by some large companies. Also, legacy tools like nuevoMailer or MailPoet (for WordPress) are often mentioned. The right choice depends on your technical comfort, budget, and volume requirements.
## Why Choose Self-Hosted Email Marketing Tools
Self-hosting your email platform can save money and increase control. For instance, you’ll own your subscriber data and can move it or back it up at will, unlike being locked into a SaaS system. Most self-hosted apps let you connect your own SMTP or services like Amazon SES, so scaling up doesn’t mean paying exorbitant monthly fees. In fact, many tools advertise major cost savings: one review notes Sendy can send emails for just $1 per 10k via SES, and Relayzo emphasizes eliminating recurring fees entirely.
Another big advantage is deliverability and flexibility. You can implement your own warm-up schedules, IP rotations, or use enterprise-grade MTAs (some platforms even offer built-in PowerMTA support) to maximize inbox placement. (For example, Relayzo even provides a PowerMTA wizard for fine-tuning delivery settings.) And because you control the server, you can adapt quickly to new trends. For instance, GDPR and data privacy rules now favor keeping customer data in-house, and modern features like AMP emails or AI-driven personalization are easier to integrate on your own stack.
That said, self-hosting requires some technical setup. You’ll need to manage the server (security, updates, deliverability reputation, etc.). Many of the tools above work with common stacks (Linux, Apache/Nginx, PHP or Docker), but plan for an initial setup period. Once running, however, the upside is a highly customizable system. And if you need guidance on email strategy, Mailmodo’s comprehensive email marketing guide (the anchor link here) can help you align your self-hosted campaigns with best practices.
## Final Thoughts
Choosing the best self-hosted email tool depends on your priorities. If you want maximum simplicity and don’t mind a license fee, MailWizz or Sendy can get you up and running cheaply. If you need deep automation and a cutting-edge UI, Mautic or Listmonk might fit. For developer-driven, highly scalable setups, Postal or OpenEMM are options. And for an integrated AI-enhanced platform, Relayzo presents a next-generation approach.
Whatever you pick, self-hosting means you own the platform and the data. As Relayzo’s site sums up, self-hosted email marketing lets you “operate without third-party limitations” and tailor every campaign element to your needs. In the era of data privacy and AI-powered personalization, that independence can be a competitive edge. So take control of your email marketing—start a pilot with one of the above tools and experience the benefits of a self-hosted system on your own terms.