Mailcoach vs SendPortal (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Mailcoach if

• Fits if you have a big list but only email it a few times a month
• Works for teams that want data kept in the EU, or Laravel developers who want email inside their own app

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you need sign-up forms or landing pages built in, as none are named
• Pricey if you email a large list every day, since every email past 2,000 is billed
• Not for you if you like paying yearly, as usage is billed monthly with VAT on top and there's no annual plan
• Watch out: each team picks Mailcoach's sending or its own provider, not both
• Watch out: the self-hosted version is a separate license whose dollar price couldn't be read

Pick SendPortal if

• Fits if you have a Laravel developer and want a free newsletter tool
• Works for people who already pay for an email sending service

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you want automation or a drag-and-drop editor, which aren't listed
• Skip it if you don't want to install PHP, Composer and a database
• Watch out: it has no sending of its own, so deliverability depends on the service you connect
• Watch out: no paid support plan is named

Mailcoach

• There is no annual plan: usage is invoiced monthly, and prices exclude VAT.
• Each team must choose either Mailcoach's sending or its own provider, not both.
• The self-hosted Laravel version is a separate license bought through spatie.be, with a year of updates per purchase; its dollar price could not be read.
• The pricing page names no sign-up forms or landing page builder among its features.

SendPortal

• You install and maintain it yourself; version 4 needs PHP 8.3 or newer, Composer, and MySQL 5.7+ or PostgreSQL 10+.
• The pages describe campaigns, segments and tracking; they do not list automation workflows or drag-and-drop editing.
• It has no sending infrastructure of its own, so deliverability depends on the email service you connect.
• The vendor's pages name no paid support plan.

Mailcoach

Campaigns

Newsletters with segmentation, split testing, open and click analytics, pre-send checklists and a searchable archive of past issues.

Automations

Workflows for onboarding, lead nurturing and other sequences, built without code.

Transactional email

Edit, send and track transactional emails in the same app, sent from your product through Mailcoach's API.

Unlimited contacts

Contacts, lists and audiences cost nothing extra; the bill depends only on how many emails go out each month.

Bring your own provider

Send through Postmark, Mailgun, Brevo, Amazon SES or any SMTP server instead of Mailcoach's own sending, at half the per-email fee.

EU hosting and GDPR

Data is stored encrypted in the EU, and open and click tracking can be switched off.

SendPortal

Subscribers and segments

Import or update subscribers through the API or a CSV upload, and group them with tags and custom-defined segments.

Campaigns and templates

Send a campaign to every subscriber or to selected segments, using templates you build yourself.

Message tracking

Sends, opens, clicks, bounces and unsubscribes are tracked for each campaign.

Workspaces

Several workspaces or teams can be handled from a single interface.

REST API

API endpoints for templates, subscribers, tags and campaigns.

Bring your own sender

The documentation covers AWS SES, Postmark, SendGrid, Mailgun, Mailjet, Postal and plain SMTP as email services.

Mailcoach

• Pay as you go$9.99

  per month with 2,000 emails, plus $0.002 per extra email

  Unlimited contacts, lists and automations, campaigns, transactional email and the API. Extra emails cost $0.001 each when sent through your own provider.

SendPortal

• Self-hosted$0

  Open-source software you host yourself, with unlimited users, subscribers, segments and messages. Sending costs are paid to your chosen email service.