Keila vs Mautic
Both are free/open-source alternatives to Mailchimp. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Keila
Simple, privacy-friendly open-source newsletter tool.
Keila is an open-source newsletter application built in Elixir/Phoenix, designed to be a straightforward, privacy-conscious way to send campaigns and manage subscribers. It supports segmentation, templates, a form builder, and sending through providers like Amazon SES, Mailgun, Postmark, or plain SMTP. It is aimed at creators, small organizations, and anyone who wants a clean self-hosted newsletter tool without the complexity of a full marketing-automation suite; a paid managed cloud is also offered by its maintainers for those who prefer not to self-host.
Mautic
Full open-source marketing automation platform.
Mautic is a mature open-source marketing-automation platform (PHP/Symfony) that goes well beyond newsletters, offering contact management, segmentation, visual campaign/journey builders, landing pages, forms, lead scoring, and multi-channel messaging. It is the closest open-source counterpart to Mailchimp's higher tiers for teams that need automation depth, and it sends through your chosen SMTP or transactional provider. It rewards organizations willing to run and maintain a more substantial application in exchange for owning their data and automation stack.
Side by side
| Keila | Mautic | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 88 | 84 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Pricing | Free / self-host; optional paid managed cloud from the maintainers | Free / self-host; optional paid managed hosting from third parties |
Keila edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
Keila
Strengths
- +Clean, focused UI that is quick to learn for non-technical senders
- +Bring your own sending provider (SES, Mailgun, Postmark, SMTP)
- +GDPR-conscious design with double opt-in and self-owned subscriber data
- +Docker-based deployment and an optional hosted cloud if you don't want to self-host
Trade-offs
- −Smaller project and community than listmonk or Mautic
- −Fewer advanced automation and reporting features than heavyweight platforms
- −You still handle deliverability and an external sending provider when self-hosting
- −AGPL-3.0 network-copyleft obligations apply to modified network deployments
Mautic
Strengths
- +Closest open-source match to full marketing automation and customer journeys
- +Landing pages, forms, lead scoring, and multi-channel campaigns built in
- +Large, established community and plugin ecosystem
- +Self-hosted, so contacts and automation logic stay on your infrastructure
Trade-offs
- −Heavier PHP/Symfony stack with more moving parts to install and maintain
- −Steeper learning curve than a simple newsletter tool
- −Deliverability and an external sending provider are still your responsibility
- −Ongoing upkeep (updates, cron, queues) is more demanding than a single-binary app
More Mailchimp head-to-heads
Facts verified 2026-07-07. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.