# Best open source email marketing and newsletter tools > The best open source email marketing tool is Listmonk, with 23,701 GitHub stars, the AGPL-3.0 license and a Docker image; Mautic and Keila are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Listmonk leads for startups, small business and freelancers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 6 apps in the newsletters & mailing lists category of the appsgit catalog. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best open source email marketing tool? | | Picks | 16 | | Top pick | Listmonk (23,701 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-email-marketing | ## Top picks 6 of the 6 apps in the newsletters & mailing lists category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [Listmonk](https://appsgit.com/apps/listmonk) (23,701 stars, AGPL-3.0, Go, Docker): Listmonk has 23,701 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 227 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp and Twilio SendGrid. - [Mautic](https://appsgit.com/apps/mautic) (10,710 stars, GPL-3.0, PHP): Mautic has 10,710 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 5,274 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp and HubSpot. - [Keila](https://appsgit.com/apps/keila) (2,227 stars, AGPL-3.0, Elixir, Docker): Keila has 2,227 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 383 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp and Substack. - [Dittofeed](https://appsgit.com/apps/dittofeed) (2,979 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Dittofeed has 2,979 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 70 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp. - [phpList](https://appsgit.com/apps/phplist) (875 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP): phpList has 875 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 18 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp. - [Sympa](https://appsgit.com/apps/sympa) (316 stars, GPL-2.0, Perl): Sympa has 316 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 63 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp. ## Best for startups Ranked for startups on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites and recent commits. - [Listmonk](https://appsgit.com/apps/listmonk) (23,701 stars, AGPL-3.0, Go, Docker): Listmonk has 23,701 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 227 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp and Twilio SendGrid. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Mautic](https://appsgit.com/apps/mautic) (10,710 stars, GPL-3.0, PHP): Mautic has 10,710 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 5,274 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp and HubSpot. For startups it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Dittofeed](https://appsgit.com/apps/dittofeed) (2,979 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Dittofeed has 2,979 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 70 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Keila](https://appsgit.com/apps/keila) (2,227 stars, AGPL-3.0, Elixir, Docker): Keila has 2,227 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 383 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp and Substack. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [phpList](https://appsgit.com/apps/phplist) (875 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP): phpList has 875 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 18 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp. For startups it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. ## Best for small business and freelancers Ranked for small business and freelancers (the same order for each) on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [Listmonk](https://appsgit.com/apps/listmonk) (23,701 stars, AGPL-3.0, Go, Docker): Listmonk has 23,701 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 227 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp and Twilio SendGrid. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Mautic](https://appsgit.com/apps/mautic) (10,710 stars, GPL-3.0, PHP): Mautic has 10,710 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 5,274 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp and HubSpot. For small business it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Keila](https://appsgit.com/apps/keila) (2,227 stars, AGPL-3.0, Elixir, Docker): Keila has 2,227 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 383 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp and Substack. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Dittofeed](https://appsgit.com/apps/dittofeed) (2,979 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Dittofeed has 2,979 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 70 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [phpList](https://appsgit.com/apps/phplist) (875 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP): phpList has 875 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 18 commits in the last year; it replaces Mailchimp. For small business it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. ## How this list was made - Candidates: the 6 apps in the newsletters & mailing lists category. Archived projects and projects with no commit in the last two years are left out. - Base score: GitHub stars on a log scale plus commits in the last 12 months (log scale, capped at 1,000). - Bonus points for a published Docker image, an OSI-approved open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - Each "Best for" section re-ranks the same apps with that audience's profile (for example startups add points for permissive licenses, project websites and recent commits; small business for Docker images and deploy guides). - Source-available apps can rank, but they are labelled and never described as open source. ## FAQ ### Is Listmonk free? Yes. Listmonk is open-source software released under the AGPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan. ### Which open source email marketing tool is best for a startup? Listmonk ranks first for startups, with 23,701 GitHub stars, the AGPL-3.0 license and a Docker image; Mautic and Dittofeed follow. The startups ranking adds points for Docker images, permissive licenses, project websites and recent commits on top of stars and activity. ### Which open source email marketing tool is best for a small business? Listmonk ranks first for small business, with 23,701 GitHub stars, the AGPL-3.0 license and a Docker image; Mautic and Keila follow. The small business ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites, recent commits and deploy guides on top of stars and activity. ### Can I self-host these email marketing and newsletter tools with Docker? Yes, 3 of the 6 picks. Listmonk, Keila and Dittofeed publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide. ### Are all of these email marketing and newsletter tools open source? All 6 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license. ## Related questions - [What is the best open source CRM?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-crm) - [What is the best open source workflow automation tool?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-workflow-automation) - [What is the best open source budgeting app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-budgeting-software) - [What is the best open source CMS?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-cms) - [What is the best open source team chat app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-team-chat) - [What is the best open source file sharing app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-file-sharing) - [What is the best open source analytics tool?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-analytics) - [What is the best open source booking and scheduling system?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-booking-systems) ## See also - [All newsletters & mailing lists apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/newsletters) - [All CRM apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/crm) - [All automation & workflows apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/automation) - [Open-source alternatives to Mailchimp](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/mailchimp) - [Open-source alternatives to Twilio SendGrid](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/sendgrid) - [Open-source alternatives to Substack](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/substack) - [Open-source alternatives to HubSpot](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/hubspot) - [listmonk vs Mautic](https://appsgit.com/compare/listmonk-vs-mautic) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-email-marketing Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. 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