# Keila review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> Open-source newsletter tool, self-hosted or EU-hosted cloud

Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA.

Keila is an open-source newsletter tool for managing contact lists, designing campaigns and sending them. It can be self-hosted with the official Docker image or used as a paid cloud service hosted in Germany and France. Cloud plans are priced by emails per month, with unlimited contacts and projects.

- **Category:** Email Marketing & Newsletters
- **Made by:** Keila
- **Website:** https://www.keila.io
- **Runs on:** Web
- **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want a free plan or a trial: the vendor says it won't offer one.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 13, 2026, Keila has a free plan, and paid plans start at €8 per month for 2,000 emails a month.

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** No free cloud plan; the open-source edition is free to run on your own server.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Keila XS | €8 per month for up to 2,000 emails a month | Unlimited contacts and projects; send with Keila or bring your own email server. |
| Keila S | €16 per month for up to 5,000 emails a month | Unlimited contacts and projects; send with Keila or bring your own email server. |
| Keila M | €32 per month for up to 15,000 emails a month | Unlimited contacts and projects; send with Keila or bring your own email server. |
| Keila L | €64 per month for up to 50,000 emails a month | Unlimited contacts and projects. Larger steps: €128 for 100,000 emails (XL) and €256 for 250,000 (XXL). |
| Self-hosted | $0 | AGPLv3-licensed; you host it yourself with the official Docker image. The vendor says there are no proprietary premium features. |

Read from https://www.keila.io/pricing/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Keila before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Discounts for open source and nonprofits** (Other savings): The pricing page says discounts may be possible for open-source projects, nonprofits and small businesses that have trouble affording a plan; you contact the vendor. Source: https://www.keila.io/pricing/

## Key features

- **Several ways to write emails:** A visual block editor, Markdown (with or without a WYSIWYG view), MJML for custom layouts, or plain text.
- **Segments and custom data:** Segments from contact data and tags, and Liquid templates to personalize emails from custom JSON data.
- **Forms:** A form builder with custom fields, double opt-in and captcha protection through hCaptcha or Friendly Captcha.
- **Analytics and privacy options:** Open and click tracking, which can be turned off entirely.
- **Sending options:** Send with Keila's own delivery or bring your own SMTP, AWS SES, Mailgun, Postmark or Sendgrid.
- **API:** An API to manage contacts and campaigns; a Zapier integration is described as being in private beta.

## Good for

- Organizations that want an open-source newsletter tool they can host themselves
- Senders who want data kept on EU infrastructure
- Small newsletters that want a predictable price and unlimited contacts

## Worth knowing

- There is no free cloud plan or trial; the vendor says it will not offer one.
- Cloud prices are in euros and rise with monthly email volume, from €8 at 2,000 to €256 at 250,000 emails.
- Automation workflows are not listed among the features; the pages describe campaigns, segments and forms.
- Self-hosting means running your own server and email sending.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Keila is an open-source newsletter tool with campaigns, segments and forms, hosted in Germany and France or run on your own server. There's no free cloud plan, the vendor says there never will be one, and automation workflows aren't listed.

- **Value for money: B.** €8 a month for 2,000 emails, with unlimited contacts and projects. That's inside the cheapest quarter of email marketing tools, which start at $10.
- **Free plan and trial: D.** No free cloud plan or trial. The open-source edition costs nothing but needs your own server and your own email sending.
- **Features: C.** Visual, Markdown and plain-text editors, segments, forms, analytics and an API. Automation workflows aren't listed on its pages.
- **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. The cloud version is a web app, though you'll connect a sending domain; self-hosting means Docker.
- **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web, with an API and connections to Zapier, AWS SES, Mailgun, Postmark and Sendgrid.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Keila's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among email marketing and newsletter tools

- Keila's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 42 of the 102 other email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, and level with 24.
- It stands best on value for money (B, above 81 of 102) and worst on free plan and trial (D, above 28).
- Its paid plans start at about $8.94 a month, against a middle price of $19 for the category: 9 of the 78 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 5 tools score higher and cost less.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/email-marketing

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** To replace Keila you would be making newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $107.25 a year. Keila is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.

- You could make: Markdown and forms: an app builder makes these well.
- You could not: Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox.
- You could not: It plugs into other products, Zapier, AWS SES and Mailgun among them, and has an API.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## Works with

Zapier, AWS SES, Mailgun, Postmark, Sendgrid

**Tags:** Open source, Self-hostable, Email campaigns, Markdown, Forms, Public API

## Alternatives

- [listmonk](https://toolgpa.com/tools/listmonk): Free self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/keila-vs-listmonk)
- [Mautic](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mautic): Open source marketing automation you can self-host. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/keila-vs-mautic)
- [Mailcoach](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mailcoach): Email campaigns priced by emails sent, hosted or self-hosted. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/keila-vs-mailcoach)
- [Sendy](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sendy): Self-hosted newsletter app that sends through Amazon SES. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/keila-vs-sendy)
- [Buttondown](https://toolgpa.com/tools/buttondown): Newsletter software priced by active subscribers, with add-ons. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/buttondown-vs-keila)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026:

- https://www.keila.io/pricing/
- https://www.keila.io/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/keila
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).