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Self-Hosted Beehiiv Alternative

Tired of SaaS vendor lock-in, escalating monthly fees, and someone else controlling your subscriber data? Broadcast is a self-hosted email marketing platform you buy once and own forever. Your server. Your data. Your rules.

Buy Broadcast — $150 Calculate Savings

SaaS Platform Risks

Every SaaS platform carries inherent risks that grow as your business depends on it more.

Vendor Lock-in

Your subscriber data, analytics, and content live on someone else’s servers. Migrating away gets harder the longer you stay.

Price Increases

SaaS platforms regularly raise prices. Once you’re locked in, you pay whatever they decide to charge—or face a painful migration.

Feature Gates

Essential features like automations, analytics, and branding removal are locked behind premium tiers. You pay more as you need more.

Data Ownership Concerns

Who really owns your subscriber data? What happens if the platform shuts down, gets acquired, or changes their terms of service?

Why Self-Hosting Wins

Self-hosting eliminates every SaaS risk while giving you capabilities most platforms charge premium prices for.

No Vendor Lock-in

Your data lives on your server. Export, backup, or migrate anytime. No company can hold your business hostage.

One-Time Purchase

Pay $150 once. No monthly fees, no per-subscriber charges, no surprise price increases. The price you see is the price you pay.

All Features Included

Automations, segmentation, analytics, branding removal—everything is included. No feature gates, no premium tiers, no upsells.

100% Data Ownership

Your database, your backups, your rules. Full GDPR compliance, complete audit trails, and total sovereignty over subscriber data.

Myth-Busting Self-Hosting

Common misconceptions about self-hosted email marketing—addressed

“It’s too hard to set up”

Broadcast includes an automated installer that handles the entire setup process on Ubuntu servers. Run one command, answer a few questions, and you’re live in about 15 minutes. No sysadmin skills required.

“It’s unreliable”

Modern VPS providers like Hetzner, DigitalOcean, and Vultr offer 99.9%+ uptime guarantees. Your self-hosted Broadcast instance is as reliable as the infrastructure you choose—often more reliable than SaaS platforms that have their own outages.

“I need a sysadmin”

Broadcast’s one-click installer for Ubuntu handles server configuration, database setup, and application deployment. After installation, you manage everything through the web interface—just like any SaaS platform.

“It’s expensive”

A capable VPS starts at around $6/month. Add Amazon SES at $0.10 per 1,000 emails and Broadcast’s one-time $150 license. You’re looking at a fraction of what any SaaS platform charges—especially as your list grows.

Technical Requirements

Getting started with Broadcast is straightforward. Here’s what you need.

Server Requirements

  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

    Officially supported. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS also works.

  • 1 GB RAM minimum

    2 GB+ recommended for larger lists. Most VPS plans include this.

  • Any VPS provider

    Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode—any provider works.

Helpful Links

ESP Flexibility

With Beehiiv, you’re locked into their sending infrastructure. With Broadcast, you choose the email service provider that fits your needs and budget.

Amazon SES

~$0.10 per 1,000 emails

The most cost-effective option for high-volume sending. Unbeatable pricing at scale with excellent deliverability.

Postmark

Reliable transactional email

Known for excellent deliverability and fast delivery. Ideal for businesses that prioritize inbox placement above all else.

Mailgun

Developer-friendly API

Robust email infrastructure with powerful APIs. Good balance of features, deliverability, and pricing for growing businesses.

SendGrid

Established platform

Well-known email infrastructure provider backed by Twilio. Wide ecosystem support and comprehensive documentation.

Any SMTP

Full flexibility

Broadcast works with any SMTP provider. Use whatever email sending service meets your requirements—now and in the future.

Compare all supported email providers →

Frequently Asked Questions

Self-hosted means you run Broadcast on your own server—a simple VPS from providers like Hetzner, DigitalOcean, or Vultr. You have full control over the software, your data, and your sending infrastructure. No vendor can change pricing, limit features, or shut down your account.
Broadcast includes an automated installer that handles the entire setup. Get a VPS with Ubuntu 24.04, run the installer, and you’re live in about 15 minutes. The installer configures the web server, database, and application automatically. After setup, you manage everything through a web interface.
After the one-time $150 license, your ongoing costs are VPS hosting ($6–20/month depending on your needs) and email sending through your chosen ESP. With Amazon SES at $0.10 per 1,000 emails, even sending 100,000 emails per month costs only about $10. Total ongoing costs are typically $16–30/month regardless of subscriber count.
VPS providers offer automated backups and snapshots. You can restore your entire server in minutes if something goes wrong. Broadcast also supports database backups that you can schedule automatically. In practice, modern VPS infrastructure is extremely reliable—most providers guarantee 99.9%+ uptime.

Own your email marketing. Forever.

No vendor lock-in. No monthly fees. No subscriber limits. Buy once, own forever.

Calculate Your Savings Buy Broadcast — $150

Related Pages

Broadcast vs Beehiiv
Complete side-by-side comparison
Beehiiv Pricing Breakdown
Hidden costs and tier limitations
Beehiiv Deliverability
Shared vs dedicated infrastructure