Free alternatives to listmonk
listmonk is free and has no subscriber or send limits, which is unbeatable on paper. The reality is that listmonk does not deliver email. You supply and pay an SMTP provider like Amazon SES, run a server, and own deliverability: SPF, DKIM, bounces, and blocklists all become your job (as of July 2026). If that work is not something you want, or you need landing pages, popups, and a real support desk, a hosted tool will serve you better. Here are the ones we would move to.
Facts checked as of July 2026Read our listmonk review
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Brevo
Best Free Alternative TolistmonkHosted and handles deliverability, while still not charging for your list size
Brevo is the closest hosted tool to listmonk in spirit, because it does not charge for the number of contacts you store, up to 100,000 for free (as of July 2026). The difference that matters: Brevo runs the servers and manages deliverability, so you skip the SMTP setup and reputation work listmonk hands you. The free plan sends 300 emails a day, about 9,000 a month, with a builder, forms, automation, and transactional email. Paid Starter starts at $9 a month.
- Free plan, paid from $9/month (as of July 2026)
- France
France- Best for:
- listmonk users who want no per-contact charge without running the infrastructure
- The catch:
- You trade unlimited sending for a 300-a-day cap on the free plan, and you no longer own your data the way a self-hosted Postgres table lets you.
Compared to listmonk
- Advantage: Brevo runs deliverability, no SPF, DKIM, or bounce handling on you
- Advantage: Up to 100,000 free contacts, like listmonk's no-per-contact model
- Advantage: Hosted builder, forms, and automation with no server to run
- Advantage: Marketing and transactional email in one place
- Tradeoff: Free plan caps sending at 300 a day, unlike listmonk's no limit
- Tradeoff: Your subscriber data lives on Brevo, not your own database
- Tradeoff: Removing branding is a paid add-on even on Starter
Hosted, with the biggest free send pool for lists under 2,500
Sender is a fully hosted tool that removes all of listmonk's operational work. Its free plan covers 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, with automation, landing pages, forms, and popups included (as of July 2026). You get deliverability, a builder, and support without touching a server. The tradeoff versus listmonk is the 2,500-subscriber ceiling, where listmonk has none.
- Free plan, paid from $7/month (as of July 2026)
- Lithuania
Lithuania- Best for:
- Small lists that want listmonk's zero-cost feel without the server work
- The catch:
- Sender caps you at 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, where self-hosted listmonk has no ceiling at all.
Compared to listmonk
- Advantage: Fully hosted, no server or SMTP setup
- Advantage: Deliverability managed for you
- Advantage: Landing pages and popups that listmonk lacks entirely
- Tradeoff: 2,500-subscriber cap versus listmonk's no limit
- Tradeoff: 15,000 emails a month versus listmonk's uncapped sending
- Tradeoff: Free plan is single-seat
Keeps the Amazon SES economics, but hosts the interface for you
EmailOctopus is the middle ground between listmonk and a fully managed tool. Its Connect product routes sending through your own Amazon SES account, the same near-wholesale economics you would set up on listmonk, but EmailOctopus hosts the interface and handles more of the tooling. The standard free plan covers 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month (as of July 2026), fully hosted. Pro starts at $9 a month billed annually.
- Free plan, paid from $9/month (as of July 2026)
- United Kingdom
United Kingdom- Best for:
- listmonk users who liked the SES cost model but not maintaining the app
- The catch:
- On Connect you still own an Amazon SES account and some deliverability setup, so it is not as hands-off as Brevo or Sender.
Compared to listmonk
- Advantage: Same Amazon SES economics without running the app
- Advantage: Hosted interface, campaigns, and reporting
- Advantage: 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails free, no server needed
- Tradeoff: Standard free plan caps subscribers and sends, unlike listmonk
- Tradeoff: Connect still needs your own SES account and setup
- Tradeoff: Free plan reporting history is capped
A proper visual editor, which listmonk does not have
MailerLite is the pick if part of why you are leaving listmonk is the lack of a real editor. Its drag-and-drop builder and templates are the best in the budget tier, and it is fully hosted with deliverability handled. The free plan is small: 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month (as of July 2026). Paid Comfort starts at $12 a month for 500 subscribers.
- Free plan, paid from $12/month (as of July 2026)
- Lithuania
- Best for:
- People who want good-looking emails and none of listmonk's server work
- The catch:
- MailerLite's 250-subscriber free plan is a world away from listmonk's unlimited lists, so a large list means paying by subscriber count.
Compared to listmonk
- Advantage: A genuine visual editor, which listmonk lacks
- Advantage: Fully hosted with deliverability handled
- Advantage: Paid newsletters and digital product sales built in
- Tradeoff: 250 free subscribers versus listmonk's unlimited
- Tradeoff: 2,500 free emails a month versus listmonk's uncapped sending
- Tradeoff: Prices on subscriber count as your list grows
Hosted transactional plus marketing email for SaaS teams
Loops fits if you were running listmonk for a software product and want to stop maintaining it. It combines marketing and transactional email on one contact record, fully hosted. Free covers under 1,000 contacts and 4,000 sends per 30 days (as of July 2026). The paid plan is $49 a month for 5,000 contacts with unlimited sends and transactional included.
- Free plan, paid from $49/month (as of July 2026)
- United States
United States- Best for:
- SaaS teams who ran listmonk themselves and want a managed product instead
- The catch:
- 1,000 free contacts and 4,000 sends is far below listmonk's no-limit model, and the jump to $49 a month is steep.
Compared to listmonk
- Advantage: Fully hosted, no server or SMTP maintenance
- Advantage: Marketing and transactional email on one record
- Advantage: Deliverability handled for you
- Tradeoff: 1,000 free contacts versus listmonk's unlimited
- Tradeoff: 4,000 free sends per 30 days versus listmonk's uncapped
- Tradeoff: First paid tier is $49 a month
Hosted, developer-friendly, and bills only on active subscribers
Buttondown suits a developer who ran listmonk for a personal newsletter and wants to stop maintaining it. It is hosted, has an API, sends from your own domain, and bills on active subscribers rather than everyone stored. Free covers your first 100 subscribers and about one email a day (as of July 2026). Beyond that, features are add-ons, so it stays cheap if you keep it minimal.
- Free plan (as of July 2026)
- United States
- Best for:
- Developers with a personal newsletter who want to retire their listmonk server
- The catch:
- 100 free subscribers is tiny next to listmonk's unlimited lists, and add-ons stack once you want more than plain sending.
Compared to listmonk
- Advantage: Hosted, with an API developers will recognise
- Advantage: Bills only on active subscribers
- Advantage: Custom sending domain and deliverability handled
- Tradeoff: 100 free subscribers versus listmonk's unlimited
- Tradeoff: About one email a day at published prices
- Tradeoff: Features beyond writing are separate paid add-ons
The most complete hosted platform, at incumbent prices
Mailchimp is the fully managed opposite of listmonk: deep reporting, a huge integration catalogue, customer journeys, and deliverability entirely handled. It is here for context. The free plan is 250 contacts and 500 emails a month (as of July 2026), and paid plans price on total contacts. Essentials starts at $13 a month.
- Free plan, paid from $13/month (as of July 2026)
- United States
- Best for:
- Ecommerce teams who want depth and integrations with zero infrastructure
- The catch:
- You move from unlimited and self-owned to 250 free contacts and per-contact pricing, so this only makes sense if you value the features.
Compared to listmonk
- Advantage: Deepest reporting and integrations, fully hosted
- Advantage: Strong ecommerce journeys and segmentation
- Tradeoff: 250 free contacts and 500 emails versus listmonk's unlimited
- Tradeoff: Prices on total contacts, inactive included
- Tradeoff: Free plan cut repeatedly
How to choose
Brevo is the closest hosted match, since it also does not charge for the size of your list, up to 100,000 contacts free, and it handles deliverability for you. Sender gives a small list the biggest free send pool with none of the server work. EmailOctopus keeps the Amazon SES economics while hosting the interface. MailerLite adds the visual editor listmonk lacks, Loops suits a SaaS product, and Mailchimp is the fully managed opposite for teams who want depth.