Listmonk vs Sendy
Listmonk is a newsletter platform while Sendy is a email marketing platform. Sendy has been around since 2012, giving it a 6-year head start over Listmonk (founded 2018). Listmonk starts at free versus $69 one-time for Sendy. Listmonk offers a free plan (Unlimited (self-hosted, open source)), while Sendy does not. Listmonk stands out with advanced analytics and a drag-and-drop editor, while Sendy offers marketing automation.
Quick Verdict
Listmonk wins on price, deliverability, free tier.
Sendy wins on integrations.
Best for most users: Listmonk (developers).
Listmonk
Self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager
Listmonk is a free, open-source, self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager written in Go. It handles millions of emails with minimal resources and is best for developers and technical users who want full control over their email infrastructure.
Sendy
Self-hosted email marketing that sends via Amazon SES at 100x lower cost
Sendy is a self-hosted email newsletter application that connects to Amazon SES to deliver emails at a fraction of the cost of traditional email marketing platforms. With a one-time $69 license and SES sending costs of roughly $1 per 10,000 emails, it is ideal for high-volume senders who want to avoid recurring subscription fees. It requires technical setup but offers unlimited subscribers, autoresponders, segmentation, and full data ownership.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Listmonk | Sendy |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.2/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Starting Price | Free | $69 |
| Free Plan | Unlimited (self-hosted, open source) | No free plan |
| Founded | 2018 | 2012 |
| Email Templates | 5 | 0 |
| Integrations | 10 | 20 |
| Deliverability Rate | 97% | 95% |
| Marketing Automation | ✕ | ✓ |
| A/B Testing | ✕ | ✕ |
| Landing Pages | ✕ | ✕ |
| Segmentation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Drag & Drop Editor | ✓ | ✕ |
| SMS Marketing | ✕ | ✕ |
| Ecommerce Features | ✕ | ✕ |
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-Language | ✓ | ✕ |
| Web Push Notifications | ✕ | ✕ |
| Live Chat | ✕ | ✕ |
| Advanced Analytics | ✓ | ✕ |
Listmonk: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Completely free and open source with no usage limits
- +Handles 7+ million emails with minimal CPU and 57 MB RAM
- +Single binary deployment with Docker support
- +SQL-based subscriber segmentation for advanced querying
- +Zero recurring costs — self-hosted with no per-subscriber fees
Cons
- −Requires technical knowledge to set up and maintain
- −No built-in SMTP, must configure an external provider like Amazon SES
- −Lacks automation workflows, A/B testing, and landing pages
- −Community support only via GitHub
- −No managed hosting option — you handle server maintenance yourself
Sendy: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Extreme cost savings — one-time $69 license with Amazon SES sending at ~$1 per 10,000 emails
- +Unlimited subscribers with no tier-based pricing that punishes list growth
- +Full data ownership and privacy since everything is self-hosted on your own server
- +Clean, focused interface without bloated features — does exactly what it promises
- +White-label multi-brand support allows managing multiple client accounts from one install
Cons
- −Requires technical skills for server setup, installation, and ongoing maintenance
- −No built-in A/B testing, landing page builder, or advanced automation workflows
- −UI feels dated and lacks modern design polish compared to SaaS competitors
- −Limited customer support — solo developer product with slow response times reported
- −No drag-and-drop email editor; requires HTML knowledge for custom templates
The Verdict
Listmonk and Sendy are closely matched — both score within 0.0 points of each other in our overall rating. Your decision should come down to specific needs rather than overall quality. On deliverability, Listmonk reports 97% compared to 95% for Sendy — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Listmonk | Sendy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | Free | $69/mo |
| Deliverability | 25% | 97% | 95% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.2/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 10 | 20 |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes | No |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Listmonk if…
- + You want lower starting costs (Free)
- + You need a free plan to get started
- + You need advanced analytics
- + You're a developers
Choose Sendy if…
- + You need marketing automation
- + You're a cost conscious email marketers with large lists
- + You're a technical users comfortable with self hosting and server management