Listmonk vs Keila: Which Newsletter Tool Wins?
Quick Verdict
Listmonk is the better choice for most self-hosters. It’s faster, lighter, handles massive subscriber lists without flinching, and has a more mature ecosystem. Keila wins on ease of use and built-in features like contact forms and segmentation UI — but Listmonk’s raw performance and simplicity make it the default recommendation.
Overview
Listmonk is a high-performance newsletter and mailing list manager written in Go. Single binary, PostgreSQL backend, ships millions of emails. It’s been around since 2019, has 15,000+ GitHub stars, and is the go-to self-hosted Mailchimp replacement.
Keila is an Elixir-based newsletter tool that focuses on a polished user experience. It launched in 2021, offers built-in contact forms, WYSIWYG and Markdown editors, and a clean segmentation interface. Smaller community but actively developed.
Both are open-source, self-hostable via Docker, and replace paid email marketing platforms.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Listmonk | Keila |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Go | Elixir |
| Database | PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL |
| WYSIWYG editor | No (HTML + templates) | Yes |
| Markdown editor | Yes | Yes |
| Contact forms | No (API only) | Yes (built-in) |
| Subscriber segmentation | SQL-based queries | Visual segment builder |
| Campaign analytics | Open/click tracking | Open/click tracking |
| Transactional emails | Yes | No |
| Template system | Go templates | Liquid templates |
| API | REST | REST |
| Import/export | CSV import/export | CSV import/export |
| Multi-tenant | No | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| GitHub stars | 15,000+ | 1,400+ |
Installation Complexity
Listmonk is simpler to deploy. It’s a single Go binary plus PostgreSQL — two containers, minimal configuration. The docker compose up -d experience is about as clean as it gets.
Keila requires PostgreSQL plus an Elixir runtime, and the initial setup involves generating secret keys and configuring SMTP before the app functions. It’s not difficult, but there are more moving parts.
Both need an external SMTP server (or relay) to actually send emails. Neither includes a built-in MTA.
Winner: Listmonk — fewer containers, less configuration, faster to first send.
Performance and Resource Usage
Listmonk is built for throughput. The Go binary idles at ~20 MB RAM and can push thousands of emails per second with a single instance. PostgreSQL is the only dependency, and Listmonk’s database queries are optimized for large subscriber lists (100K+).
Keila’s Elixir/BEAM runtime uses more memory at idle (~100-150 MB) but handles concurrent connections well thanks to the BEAM VM. For lists under 50,000 subscribers, you won’t notice a difference. Above that, Listmonk’s raw throughput advantage becomes obvious.
| Metric | Listmonk | Keila |
|---|---|---|
| RAM (idle) | ~20-50 MB | ~100-150 MB |
| CPU usage | Low | Low-Medium |
| Max throughput | 10,000+ emails/min | ~2,000 emails/min |
| Startup time | <1 second | 5-10 seconds |
Winner: Listmonk — significantly lighter and faster at scale.
Community and Support
Listmonk has a larger community by every metric. 15,000+ GitHub stars, active GitHub discussions, a dedicated community forum, and regular releases. Documentation is solid and covers most use cases.
Keila has a smaller but engaged community (~1,400 GitHub stars). The maintainer is responsive, documentation is adequate, and the project has steady development activity. However, finding community answers to edge cases is harder.
Winner: Listmonk — larger community, more resources, better documented.
Use Cases
Choose Listmonk If…
- You have large subscriber lists (10K+) and need high throughput
- You want minimal resource usage on your server
- You’re comfortable with HTML templates and SQL-based segmentation
- You need transactional email support alongside newsletters
- You want the most mature, battle-tested option
Choose Keila If…
- You prefer a polished UI with WYSIWYG editing
- You want built-in contact forms without writing code
- You prefer visual segment building over SQL queries
- Your list is under 50K subscribers and raw throughput isn’t critical
- You value developer experience and modern UX patterns
Final Verdict
Listmonk is the better choice for most self-hosters. It’s faster, lighter, handles scale effortlessly, and has a much larger community. The lack of a WYSIWYG editor is the main trade-off — you’ll work with HTML templates and Go template syntax. For most newsletter use cases, that’s fine.
Choose Keila if UX is your priority. If you want a polished, modern interface with visual tools and don’t need to send millions of emails, Keila delivers a better day-to-day experience. It’s a solid project that’s growing — just smaller and less proven at scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Listmonk and Keila use the same SMTP provider?
Yes. Both work with any SMTP server — Amazon SES, Mailgun, Postfix, or any relay that speaks SMTP. Configure the SMTP credentials in each app’s settings.
Do either support double opt-in?
Listmonk supports double opt-in natively. Keila also supports double opt-in with confirmation emails.
Can I migrate from one to the other?
Both support CSV export/import of subscriber lists. You’ll lose campaign history and templates, but subscriber data transfers cleanly.
Which is better for transactional emails?
Listmonk. It has a dedicated transactional email API. Keila is newsletters-only — for transactional emails alongside Keila, pair it with a separate tool.
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