# listmonk review (2026): is it any good? > Free self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. listmonk is a free, open source newsletter and mailing list manager that you run on your own server. It ships as a single binary that works alongside a Postgres database, handles one-way mailing lists, campaigns and transactional messages, and exposes an API for most of its features. - **Category:** Email Marketing & Newsletters - **Made by:** Kailash Nadh (since 2018) - **Website:** https://listmonk.app - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you do not want to host and update a server. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, listmonk is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** Free and open source; you host it yourself and supply your own SMTP service. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Self-hosted | $0 | Free and open source; you host it yourself on a server with a Postgres database. | Read from https://listmonk.app/ on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with listmonk before buying. ## Key features - **Lists and segmentation:** Manage single and double opt-in lists with millions of subscribers, and query and segment subscribers with SQL expressions. - **Templates and editors:** Go-templated emails with logic and 100+ functions, written in a visual drag-and-drop builder, a WYSIWYG editor, Markdown or raw HTML. - **Analytics:** Built-in analytics show campaign performance, bounces and top links across campaigns. - **Transactional messages:** An API sends arbitrary messages from pre-defined templates, and messenger interfaces can send SMS or WhatsApp through HTTP webhooks. - **Access control and privacy:** OIDC single sign-on, granular roles, scoped API tokens, and subscriber data export and deletion on request. ## Good for - Developers and teams comfortable running their own server - Newsletters with large lists that would be costly on per-contact pricing - Organizations that want full control of subscriber data ## Worth knowing - You install, host and update it yourself, and supply a Postgres database and an SMTP provider for sending. - It is a one-way mailing list tool; the pages read do not describe automation journeys or built-in paid subscriptions. - The latest release shown is a v7 beta, released 10 Nov 2026. - Third-party one-click hosting exists, but the project says it has no affiliation with those providers. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. listmonk is free, open-source software for newsletters and mailing lists, which you host yourself with a Postgres database and your own SMTP service. That is the catch: you install, host and update it. It sends one-way mail, and the pages read describe no automation journeys. - **Value for money: C.** The software is free, but you need a server and an SMTP provider for sending, so it is not free in practice. Software that is free only if you host it yourself needs a server, so it sits at an ordinary C. - **Free plan and trial: B.** Free and open source with no subscriber cap on record, but you pay for hosting and an SMTP service yourself. - **Features: C.** Lists, segmentation, templates, analytics, transactional messages and access control. The pages read describe no automation journeys or paid subscriptions. - **Ease of use: D.** You self-host it: a server, a Postgres database and an SMTP provider, plus updates. No rating on record. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only, with no integrations listed on the pages read. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from listmonk's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among email marketing and newsletter tools - listmonk's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 7 of the 57 other email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, and level with 9. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 43 of 57) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - listmonk has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/email-marketing ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** listmonk is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 41 of the 57 other email marketing and newsletter tools grade higher. - You could not: Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox. - You could not: Mail servers with a good name among inbox providers. - You could not: An API that other software can build on. - You could not: What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Open source, Self-hostable, Email campaigns, Transactional email, Public API ## Alternatives - [Mautic](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mautic): Open source marketing automation you can self-host. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/listmonk-vs-mautic) - [Sendy](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sendy): Self-hosted newsletter app that sends through Amazon SES. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/listmonk-vs-sendy) - [Mailcoach](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mailcoach): Email campaigns priced by emails sent, hosted or self-hosted. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/listmonk-vs-mailcoach) - [Buttondown](https://toolgpa.com/tools/buttondown): Newsletter software priced by active subscribers, with add-ons. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/buttondown-vs-listmonk) - [EmailOctopus](https://toolgpa.com/tools/emailoctopus): Simple, low-cost email marketing with a free plan for 2,500. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/emailoctopus-vs-listmonk) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://listmonk.app/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/listmonk Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).