shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use listmonk?

Send e-mail campaigns and transactional e-mails. High performance and features packed into one app. - listmonk.app

Depends. Buy it if you can run a server: it is genuinely free, fast, and handles millions of subscribers. Skip it if you lack ops help or want managed deliverability, support, and hand-holding.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 14 public sources (GitHub, Hacker News, Product Hunt, Reddit, vendor reviews); snippets vary in depth.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support evidence in sources reviewed
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Self-hosted (open source)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Managed hosting (Elest.io)from $11/mo

Best for

  • Technical teams comfortable self-hosting
  • High-volume one-way newsletters
  • Cost-sensitive Mailchimp escapees
  • Product launch waitlists

Not for

  • Non-technical teams — no server, no product
  • Anyone needing vendor SLAs or support hand-holding
  • Two-way email conversations; lists are one-way
  • Teams unwilling to own deliverability and patching

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

You own IP reputation; poor setup means spam folders, not the vendor

medium

Free software still costs: $5–10/mo VPS plus SES at $0.10 per 1,000 emails

medium

Patches, backups, and upgrades are your job — no managed vendor

low

Managed hosting exists only via third parties, starting at $11/mo

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free and open source; no subscription fees
  • Single binary, fast, easy to self-host
  • Manages millions of subscribers across lists
  • Campaigns and transactional email in one app
  • €15–60/mo all-in vs €300+ Mailchimp at 50k subscribers

Cons

  • IP reputation and deliverability are entirely your problem
  • No first-party managed option; third-party hosting from $11/mo
  • No public security page found
  • One-way mailing lists only — not for conversations

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/20/2026 - 11 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x3review x6security x1news x1

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 11

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free; €15–60/mo all-in vs €300+ Mailchimp
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Called intuitive, but self-hosting demands some skill
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Campaigns, transactional mail, millions of subscribers, one binary
  • Support quality. No support evidence in sources reviewed
  • Security posture: 2/5. No public security page; you own patching
  • 5.0/5 User rating 19,838 reviews on opensourceprojects.cc
  • $0 Starting price Self-hosted; ~$5–10/mo VPS + SES
  • Yes Free tier Open source, self-hosted
  • €15–60/mo Cost at 50k subscribers vs €300+ for Mailchimp

Pricing

Self-hosted (open source)

$0

  • Unlimited subscribers and campaigns
  • Bring your own SMTP (e.g. Amazon SES)
  • You run the server

Managed hosting (Elest.io)

from $11/mo

  • Fully managed instance
  • No server maintenance

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Users praise listmonk as fast, intuitive, and dramatically cheaper than Mailchimp, with self-hosting as the main hurdle.

“This is very good software and easy to self host. Just use Amazon SES for email, S3 for storage”
Hacker News
“Listmonk helped us to manage newsletter campains for a whole year, from opening the waitlist to the launch. It is so intu”
Product Hunt
“ListMonk represents the solution to mailing list management, IP reputation is a separate problem”
Hacker News
Full analysis

Based on 14 public sources (GitHub, Hacker News, Product Hunt, Reddit, vendor reviews); snippets vary in depth.

Free, fast, self-hosted newsletter tool. Excellent if you run servers; wrong pick if you need managed simplicity.

Methodology

Based on 14 public sources (GitHub, Hacker News, Product Hunt, Reddit, vendor reviews); snippets vary in depth.

Sources

  1. knadh/listmonk on GitHubgithub.com
    official
  2. listmonk official sitelistmonk.app
    official
  3. Listmonk security pagelistmonk.app
    security
  4. ListMonk – Hacker News discussionnews.ycombinator.com
    news
  5. Listmonk on Product Huntproducthunt.com
    review
  6. Listmonk for Mail Campaigns: Review + Pricing (Woodpecker)woodpecker.co
    review
  7. Listmonk Self-Hosted Newsletter: Deployment Guide (Webnestify)webnestify.cloud
    review
  8. Best Listmonk Alternative for SaaS (Sequenzy)sequenzy.com
    review
  9. Fully Managed Listmonk as a Service (Elest.io)elest.io
    official
  10. Listmonk ratings (opensourceprojects.cc)opensourceprojects.cc
    review
  11. Charity communications – Reddit r/CRMreddit.com
    review

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