Listmonk vs Mautic: Newsletter or Marketing Suite?
Quick Verdict
These solve different problems. Listmonk is a focused newsletter tool — fast, light, does one thing well. Mautic is a full marketing automation platform — campaigns, lead scoring, landing pages, CRM integration, the works. If you just need newsletters, use Listmonk. If you need marketing automation, use Mautic.
Overview
Listmonk is a self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager written in Go. It handles subscriber management, campaign creation, and transactional emails through a clean web UI backed by PostgreSQL. Single binary, minimal footprint, ships millions of emails.
Mautic is a self-hosted marketing automation platform written in PHP (Symfony). It provides email campaigns, contact management, lead scoring, landing pages, dynamic content, forms, social media monitoring, and CRM integrations. It’s the self-hosted answer to HubSpot, Marketo, and ActiveCampaign.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Listmonk | Mautic |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Newsletters | Marketing automation |
| Language | Go | PHP (Symfony) |
| Database | PostgreSQL | MySQL/MariaDB |
| Email campaigns | Yes | Yes |
| Transactional emails | Yes | Yes |
| Lead scoring | No | Yes |
| Landing pages | No | Yes |
| Contact forms | No | Yes |
| Dynamic content | No | Yes |
| Marketing automation workflows | No | Yes (visual builder) |
| CRM integration | No | Salesforce, SugarCRM, vTiger, API |
| Subscriber segmentation | SQL queries | Visual segment builder + filters |
| A/B testing | No | Yes |
| Multi-channel (SMS, push) | No | Yes (via plugins) |
| API | REST | REST |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| GitHub stars | 15,000+ | 7,000+ |
Installation Complexity
Listmonk deploys in two containers: the Go binary and PostgreSQL. Configuration is minimal — set your database credentials and SMTP server, run docker compose up -d, done.
Mautic requires a three-container setup: the web server (Apache), a background worker for message queues, a cron container for scheduled tasks, plus MySQL. The official Docker Compose defines all three roles using the same image with different DOCKER_MAUTIC_ROLE values. First-time setup involves a web installer, database migration, and SMTP configuration.
Mautic also needs more post-install configuration — cron jobs for campaign triggers, segment rebuilds, email queue processing, and webhook handling. Listmonk handles all of this internally.
Winner: Listmonk — dramatically simpler to deploy and maintain.
Performance and Resource Usage
Listmonk idles at ~20-50 MB RAM. Mautic’s PHP stack with Apache, worker, and cron containers idles at ~300-500 MB combined. Under load, the gap widens.
| Metric | Listmonk | Mautic |
|---|---|---|
| RAM (idle) | ~20-50 MB | ~300-500 MB |
| Containers needed | 2 | 4 (web + worker + cron + MySQL) |
| Disk usage | ~50 MB + DB | ~500 MB + DB |
| Email throughput | 10,000+/min | ~1,000-2,000/min |
| Startup time | <1 second | 30-60 seconds |
Mautic’s resource usage is justified by what it does — marketing automation is inherently more complex than newsletter sending. But if you only need newsletters, you’re paying a significant resource overhead for features you won’t use.
Winner: Listmonk — for newsletter-only use cases. Mautic’s overhead is warranted if you use the automation features.
Community and Support
Listmonk has 15,000+ GitHub stars, active community forums, and solid documentation. It’s focused on doing one thing well, which keeps the community discussions relevant and practical.
Mautic has 7,000+ GitHub stars and a broader ecosystem — a community portal, Slack channels, regular community events, and a marketplace for plugins. Being backed by Acquia (now acquired by Dropbox) gives it enterprise credibility, though the community version is fully independent.
Mautic’s documentation is extensive but can be overwhelming for newcomers. Listmonk’s docs are leaner but sufficient.
Winner: Tie. Listmonk has more stars; Mautic has a broader ecosystem. Both are well-supported.
Use Cases
Choose Listmonk If…
- You need a newsletter tool, not a marketing platform
- Server resources are limited (1-2 GB RAM)
- You want the simplest possible deployment
- High email throughput matters (large lists)
- You prefer a focused tool over a Swiss Army knife
- You need transactional email alongside newsletters
Choose Mautic If…
- You need marketing automation (drip campaigns, lead scoring, workflows)
- You want landing pages, forms, and dynamic content built in
- CRM integration is a requirement
- You need A/B testing for campaigns
- Multi-channel marketing (email + SMS + push) is on your roadmap
- You’re replacing HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, or Marketo — not just Mailchimp
Final Verdict
If you need newsletters, use Listmonk. It’s faster, lighter, easier to deploy, and purpose-built for the job. Using Mautic for newsletters alone is like using a CRM to manage a grocery list.
If you need marketing automation, use Mautic. No other self-hosted tool matches its feature set. The resource overhead and complexity are the price of a genuinely capable marketing platform. Just be prepared to invest time in configuration — Mautic rewards setup effort but doesn’t hold your hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use both together?
Technically yes — Mautic for automation and Listmonk for high-throughput newsletter blasts. In practice, this adds complexity. Most users should pick one based on their actual needs.
Which handles larger subscriber lists better?
Listmonk. Its Go backend is optimized for high-throughput email sending. Mautic can handle large lists but needs more careful tuning (queue workers, database indexing, PHP memory limits).
Does Mautic replace Mailchimp?
Mautic replaces much more than Mailchimp — it competes with HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Marketo. If you only need Mailchimp-level features, Listmonk is the closer replacement.
Which is easier to maintain long-term?
Listmonk. Fewer moving parts, simpler upgrades (single binary + database migration), and less configuration drift. Mautic’s PHP stack requires more attention to security updates, plugin compatibility, and cron job health.
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