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

> Open-source newsletter software, hosted or self-run

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

phpList is open-source software for sending email newsletters, campaigns and announcements, available as a hosted service at phpList.com or to run on your own server. The hosted service is priced either per message or per subscriber, with a small free account. Subscribers are organized into lists and segmented by attributes.

- **Category:** Email Marketing & Newsletters
- **Made by:** phpList Ltd
- **Website:** https://www.phplist.com
- **Runs on:** Web
- **Who should skip it:** Tight if you are staying free: the hosted account stops at 300 messages a month.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 13, 2026, phpList has a free plan, and paid plans start at $5 per month for up to 2,000 messages, billed monthly.

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** Trial account: 300 messages a month, free forever.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free account | $0 per month for up to 300 messages | Send 300 messages a month at no charge. |
| Pay-per-message | $5 per month for up to 2,000 messages, billed monthly | Price rises with volume: $60 a month at 30,000 messages. Billing for 6 months saves 5% and annual billing saves 10%. |
| Pay-per-subscriber | $8 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly | Covers up to 1 million messages a month. $45 a month at 10,000 subscribers; 5% off for 6 months, 10% off annually. |
| Pro marketer account | Custom | Quote on request, for higher volumes and dedicated networks. |
| Open source edition | $0 | Software you host yourself, from phpList.org; community support through forums. |

Read from https://www.phplist.com/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with phpList before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **10% off annual billing, 5% off 6 months** (Annual discount): The pricing slider offers a discount of 5% when paying for 6 months and 10% when paying annually. Source: https://www.phplist.com/pricing

## Key features

- **Lists, attributes and segments:** Subscribers are organized into lists with attributes such as name, country and language, and exclude lists refine who receives a campaign.
- **Personalized campaigns:** Plain text, HTML and templates with placeholders, plus scheduling and repeat sending.
- **Analytics:** Opens, clicks and forwards by campaign, link and subscriber, and Google Analytics integration.
- **Deliverability handling:** Bounce processing, abuse-complaint handling, DKIM and SPF setup, and sender-score and blacklist monitoring on the hosted service.
- **Double opt-in and unsubscribe handling:** Confirmed sign-up, self-service preference updates and a do-not-send list for unsubscribers.
- **Open source and hosting choice:** Run your own copy of the software or use the hosted service; the vendor says there is no vendor lock-in.

## Good for

- Senders who want to host the newsletter software themselves
- Low-volume senders who prefer to pay for messages rather than a monthly list size
- Organizations that want a message-based or subscriber-based plan to choose from

## Worth knowing

- The free account stops at 300 messages a month.
- Pay-per-message prices climb with volume, to $240 a month at 150,000 messages.
- A Plus option raises the price and adds items such as image storage, multiple user accounts and exclude lists.
- The features page says basic accounts start at US$1 a month, but the pricing slider's lowest paid step is $5.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. phpList is newsletter software you can run on your own server or rent hosted, with a choice of paying per message or per subscriber. The hosted prices start low, but the free account stops at 300 messages a month, the price climbs with volume, and a few basics sit behind a Plus option. Its own pages also disagree about where the cheapest plan begins.

- **Value for money: B.** Hosted plans start at $5 a month for 2,000 messages, or $8 for 500 subscribers, against $10 for the cheaper quarter of email marketing tools. It climbs fast, though: $60 a month at 30,000 messages and $240 at 150,000.
- **Free plan and trial: C.** The hosted free account allows 300 messages a month, which one small list will use up. The open source edition is free, but you have to host it yourself.
- **Features: C.** Lists, attributes, templates, scheduling, bounce handling and open and click reports are all there. Image storage, extra user accounts and exclude lists need the Plus option, which costs more.
- **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. The hosted service takes a sign-up and then lists, templates and domain records to set up, and the self-run edition needs a server on top of that.
- **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only, with Google Analytics as the one listed integration. No apps for phones or computers.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from phpList'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

- phpList'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 platforms and integrations (C, above 0).
- Its paid plans start at $5 a month, against a middle price of $19 for the category: 2 of the 78 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 3 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 phpList 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 $60 a year. phpList is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.

- You could make: Reports: an app builder makes this well.
- You could not: Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox.

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

## Works with

Google Analytics

**Tags:** Open source, Self-hostable, Email campaigns, Reports

## Alternatives

- [listmonk](https://toolgpa.com/tools/listmonk): Free self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/listmonk-vs-phplist)
- [Mautic](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mautic): Open source marketing automation you can self-host. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mautic-vs-phplist)
- [Sendy](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sendy): Self-hosted newsletter app that sends through Amazon SES. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/phplist-vs-sendy)
- [Mailcoach](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mailcoach): Email campaigns priced by emails sent, hosted or self-hosted. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mailcoach-vs-phplist)
- [Keila](https://toolgpa.com/tools/keila): Open-source newsletter tool, self-hosted or EU-hosted cloud. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/keila-vs-phplist)

## Sources

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

- https://www.phplist.com/pricing
- https://www.phplist.com/js/pricingjs.php
- https://www.phplist.com/features
- https://www.phplist.com/
- https://www.phplist.org/

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