Buttondown alternatives · Email Marketing
Open-source alternatives to Buttondown
Buttondown is not described as open source on its own site. 7 of the 102 other email marketing and newsletter tools in this directory are open source, according to their own sites.
Buttondown has a free plan. Paid plans start at $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers. 5 of them are free or have a free plan.
7 tools · Listings checked up to Nov 13, 2026 · Where the facts come from
How each one differs from Buttondown
- Free trial · from $15/mo
Ghost
Open source publishing with newsletters and paid memberships
- Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly). Buttondown starts at $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers.
- Buttondown has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
- Ghost is open source, according to its own site.
- Buttondown also covers marketing automation.
- Free plan · from €8/mo
Keila
Open-source newsletter tool, self-hosted or EU-hosted cloud
- Keila starts at €8 per month for 2,000 emails a month. Buttondown starts at $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers.
- Keila is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Keila also covers Markdown and forms.
- Buttondown also covers marketing automation and paid newsletters.
- Free
listmonk
Free self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager
- listmonk is free. Buttondown starts at $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers.
- listmonk is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- listmonk also covers transactional email.
- Buttondown also covers marketing automation and paid newsletters.
- Free plan · from €247.50/mo
Mautic
Open source marketing automation you can self-host
- Mautic starts at €247.50 per month, billed annually (€275 billed quarterly). Buttondown starts at $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers.
- Mautic is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Buttondown also covers paid newsletters.
- Free trial · from $20/mo
Groundhogg
Flat-rate CRM and email marketing plugin for WordPress
- Groundhogg starts at $20 per month for 1 site, billed annually ($240). Buttondown starts at $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers.
- Buttondown has a free plan. Groundhogg does not, though it has a free trial.
- Groundhogg is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Groundhogg also covers sales pipeline and AI agents.
- Free
SendPortal
Open-source, self-hosted email marketing built on Laravel
- SendPortal is free. Buttondown starts at $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers.
- SendPortal is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- SendPortal also covers templates.
- Buttondown also covers marketing automation and paid newsletters.
- Free plan · from $5/mo
phpList
Open-source newsletter software, hosted or self-run
- phpList starts at $5 per month for up to 2,000 messages, billed monthly. Buttondown starts at $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers.
- phpList is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- phpList also covers reports.
- Buttondown also covers marketing automation and paid newsletters.
Common questions
Is there an open-source alternative to Buttondown?
Yes. Ghost, Keila, listmonk, Mautic, Groundhogg, SendPortal and phpList are open source, according to their own sites.
Is Buttondown open source?
Buttondown is not described as open source on its own site. The listing was checked on Nov 12, 2026 against the pages it cites.
Which of these email marketing and newsletter tools are free?
Keila, listmonk, Mautic, SendPortal and phpList are free or have a free plan.
When was this checked?
Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Nov 12, 2026 to Nov 13, 2026. Vendors change prices and plans without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.
This page is built from the listings. A tool is here because its listing says so, and the order is how close each is to Buttondown: the alternatives its listing names first, then the tools that share the most features with it.