Mautic alternatives: six self-hosted options for people who do not want to run Mautic

If you only ever sent broadcasts, look at Listmonk. If you still need branching automation but want less of the stack, look at Broadcast. Those two cover most people who type “Mautic alternative” into a search box. Mautic is the deepest automation tool in open source, and it asks for a web server, PHP-FPM, MySQL, cron, and a queue in return. This page sorts the alternatives by how much of the automation they keep versus how much of the ops they remove.

Quick answer

The best Mautic alternative depends on how much automation you actually use. Listmonk if you send broadcasts and want a single Go binary. Keila if you want a polished open-source UI and can wait on automations. phpList if the real job is subscription management. Mailtrain if your team is on Node. Sendy if you are on Amazon SES and want autoresponders cheaply. Broadcast if you want sequences with branching without a PHP stack, for a one-time $250 license.

Conflict of interest

We make Broadcast, which is on this list. We have run Mautic and most of the others. If a section reads as unfair to a competitor, tell us and we will fix it.

Why people leave Mautic

The complaints are consistent, and none of them are about the feature list.

If you use the campaign builder every week and someone owns the stack, stay on Mautic. Nothing else in open source matches it.

The six alternatives at a glance

Platform License Adds over Mautic Costs you Best for
Listmonk AGPL, free One binary and Postgres, high throughput No automation at all Broadcast-only senders who want speed
Keila AGPL, free Docker image, the best UI in open source Automations still on the roadmap Non-developers who want to stay open source
phpList AGPL, free Mature double opt-in and list management A dated UX Non-profits and long-running lists
Mailtrain GPL, free A Node stack instead of PHP Smaller community Teams already on Node
Sendy About $69 one-time SES bounce handling, low price SES lock-in, per-install license SES users who only need autoresponders
Broadcast $250 one-time Sequences with branching, one Docker image, support Not open source, no lead scoring Teams who want the automation without the stack

Listmonk

Listmonk is the far end of the trade. It is a single Go binary with a Postgres database, it is free under the AGPL, and it sustains high throughput on modest hardware. The API is clean and the maintainer ships consistently. It sends through any SMTP relay or Amazon SES.

It also has no drip sequences, no triggered emails, and no branching. If you are leaving Mautic because you never opened the campaign builder, that is a feature.

Pick Listmonk if broadcasts are the whole job and you want the smallest thing that sends them. Detail in Listmonk vs Mautic.

Keila

Keila is an Elixir and Phoenix application under the AGPL, built in Germany, with an official Docker image. It has the most polished UI among open-source email tools. Segments and scheduled sends work today. Automations and A/B testing are on the roadmap as of mid-2026, so Keila does not replace a Mautic campaign graph yet.

The EU origin gives it a strong DSGVO story. Elixir hosting is less common than PHP, so ops help is a little harder to find, and the community is smaller than Mautic’s.

Pick Keila if the UI was your problem and automation was not. Detail in Keila vs Listmonk.

phpList

phpList has been running since 2000. It is PHP under the AGPL, and it is very mature. Subscription management and double opt-in are the strongest parts. Automation stops at scheduled sends, and performance at scale needs tuning.

You stay on a PHP stack, so this is not an escape from PHP. It is an escape from the size of Mautic.

Pick phpList if the list itself is the asset and stability matters more than the interface.

Mailtrain

Mailtrain is a Node.js platform under the GPL with a good template system, multi-list support, segments, and basic automation. Version 2 was a substantial rewrite. The community is smaller than Mautic’s.

Pick Mailtrain if your team already runs Node services and wants to read the source.

Sendy

Sendy is a PHP application on a LAMP stack, about $69 one-time and licensed per installation. It only sends through Amazon SES, and the SES integration is tight: bounce handling and complaint feedback are done well. Automation is autoresponders, meaning a timed series after signup, with no conditional branching or behaviour triggers.

It has been stable for about a decade and the UI looks it. The per-install license adds up for agencies running many clients.

Pick Sendy if you are committed to SES and a timed welcome series is all the automation you need. Detail in Sendy vs Mautic.

Broadcast

Broadcast is our product, so read this section with that in mind. It is a self-hosted Rails application sold as a $250 one-time license, with an Extended License at $1,000 covering up to 25 servers. It runs as a single Docker image with an automatic installer, about 30 minutes end to end.

It ships drip sequences with conditional branching, segmentation, opt-in forms, a transactional API, webhooks, and multi-domain support. You bring your own ESP: SES, Postmark, SendGrid, Resend, Mailgun, or any SMTP server. Email support is included and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. It is not open source, and it has no lead scoring or landing pages, so a Mautic install that leans on those is not a clean swap.

Pick Broadcast if you want branching automation without a PHP stack to maintain. Detail in Broadcast vs Mautic.

How to choose

  1. You use the campaign builder weekly and have an ops person. Stay on Mautic.
  2. You need branching automation and want less stack. Broadcast.
  3. You only ever sent broadcasts. Listmonk.
  4. You want a better UI and stay open source. Keila.
  5. You are on SES and a welcome series is enough. Sendy.
  6. Your list is a community list. phpList.
  7. Your stack is Node. Mailtrain.

Frequently asked

What is the best open-source alternative to Mautic?

Listmonk if you send broadcasts, Keila if you want a better interface. Both are free and both are far lighter to run. Neither matches Mautic’s campaign builder, because nothing in open source does.

Is there a Mautic alternative that is easier to run?

Listmonk is one binary and Postgres. Keila is one Docker image. Broadcast is one Docker image with an installer that takes about 30 minutes. Mautic needs a web server, PHP-FPM, MySQL, cron, and a queue.

Is there a Mautic alternative with automation?

Broadcast has drip sequences with conditional branching. Sendy has autoresponders with no branching. Mailtrain has basic automation. Listmonk has none, and Keila has automations on the roadmap rather than shipped.

Can I migrate my Mautic contacts?

Subscribers move as CSV between any of these tools. Campaign graphs do not transfer, so plan to rebuild your automations by hand wherever you land.

Why do people find Mautic hard to deploy?

The pieces have to agree with each other. Cron and the queue drive the sending, so when deliverability goes wrong the cause is usually queue configuration rather than the email itself. First installs commonly take days to tune.

If the stack is the problem

Broadcast keeps the part of Mautic you use, drip sequences with conditional branching, and drops the rest. One Docker image, your own ESP, a $250 one-time license, and email support.

How Broadcast works Try the live demo

Still deciding?

Comparisons cover the tradeoffs. How To covers whether Broadcast does the specific thing you need, organized by what you are trying to accomplish rather than by feature name. If the answer is no, it says no.

Browse How To Segment subscribers Branch a sequence Bring an existing list