Free alternatives to Mailchimp

Campaigns, forms and automation with many contacts but only 300 daily sends.

Versus paying: Brevo's free 300-email daily ceiling makes a single larger campaign slower than Mailchimp and its free emails carry Brevo branding.

Setup: Hosted signup, sender verification, and optional domain authentication

Watch for: The first meaningful hurdle is verifying the sender and setting SPF/DKIM records for a sending domain; without that, deliverability will disappoint.

A real small-list plan with forms and simple automations; reports expire after thirty days.

Versus paying: Free-plan reports expire after 30 days and the account is limited to one landing page or form, leaving less history and experimentation than Mailchimp.

Setup: Hosted signup, list import, and sender/domain verification

Watch for: A sender address must be verified, and serious sending should use an authenticated domain.

Campaigns, forms, analytics and basic automation inside WordPress; the free list stops at 500.

Versus paying: It works only inside WordPress and the free Starter allowance stops at 500 subscribers and 5,000 emails per month.

Setup: Install the WordPress plugin, create a MailPoet account, and enter the free Starter-plan key

Watch for: It requires an existing, maintained WordPress site plus a plan key and sender/domain approval; it is not a standalone email app.

The heavyweight open-source replacement for segmentation and automation; it also replaces ease with operations.

Versus paying: Mautic offers more control but gives up Mailchimp's managed deliverability, upgrades, templates, integrations, and low-maintenance operation.

Setup: Download the production package or install with Composer, then configure PHP, a database, cron, and a mail transport

Watch for: The first wall is not the installer but production operation: PHP and database tuning, several cron jobs, HTTPS, backups, upgrades, SMTP/API sending, and DNS authentication.

10,300 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

A modern visual campaign and automation stack; you own the database and the deliverability chores.

Versus paying: Notifuse has a smaller template and integration ecosystem, and self-hosters assume database, upgrade, deliverability, and sending-provider work that Mailchimp handles.

Setup: Hosted signup, or one application container plus PostgreSQL for self-hosting

Watch for: Self-hosting still needs Docker, PostgreSQL, a public HTTPS endpoint, an SMTP or API sending provider, and correctly authenticated sending domains.

2,038 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

Campaigns, transactional mail and workflows together; audience CRM depth is thinner.

Versus paying: Plunk's audience CRM, template ecosystem, campaign analytics, and non-technical marketing workflow are noticeably thinner than Mailchimp's.

Setup: Hosted signup, or the official Docker Compose stack

Watch for: Hosted use still needs domain authentication; self-hosting adds PostgreSQL, Redis, MinIO, Nginx or another proxy, exposed web and SMTP services, DNS, and ongoing deliverability work.

5,300 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

Campaigns, forms, analytics and unlimited workflows in a useful free tier; the monkey can retire.

Versus paying: Sender's one-seat branded free plan has a smaller integration and template ecosystem than Mailchimp, even though its send allowance is generous.

Setup: Hosted signup, list import, and sender/domain verification

Watch for: The first real hurdle is authenticating the sending domain and warming a legitimate list rather than merely creating the account.