Anyone who wants to send newsletters professionally needs special software. A simple email program is not enough and quickly reaches its limits. We experienced this firsthand when sending newsletters with Thunderbird.
Even when DKIM, SPF, and DMARC are used, many local email-sending solutions run into problems, as these measures are meant to ensure security and privacy when sending emails.
What is phpList?
phpList is a free newsletter-sending solution, programmed in PHP, which can be installed on your own web hosting. The software is probably as old as the idea of using a website to build an email subscriber list.
It is a very popular software for sending newsletters. It offers many features and is free, making it especially attractive for non-commercial websites. Unfortunately, this software is not the right solution for everyone when it comes to sending newsletters.
phpList has existed since the early 2000s. Although it has undergone several major restructurings and "modernizations," it is noticeable that:
- many design decisions come from a completely different PHP era
- inconsistent code styles and architecture patterns, making the admin interface relatively difficult to use
- technical debt that was never fully resolved
This makes maintenance, expansion, and debugging unnecessarily complicated. On top of that, the developers used the codebase to offer a commercial solution based on phpList for a fee, which did not excite the open-source community.
The good news is that phpList has been continuously developed over the years and has gained some interesting features, including:
- Easy import and export of subscriber data from any source
- Subscribers can update their email address, personal data, and subscription preferences themselves
- The double opt-in and easy unsubscribe system ensures active recipients and higher list quality
- Subscribers can be added to a "Do-not-Send" list to prevent accidental resending
- The message queue ensures that no subscriber receives the same campaign twice, even if they are on multiple lists
- Campaigns can be queued to target only new subscribers
- An unlimited number of segmented lists with complex demographic data can be managed
- phpList supports multiple administrators with flexible permissions and collaborative workflow
- The software is available in over 20 languages, including internationalized subscriber pages
The list is long, and phpList is undoubtedly a powerful newsletter software. In practice, however, it quickly becomes apparent that phpList is only partially suitable for simple email marketing. The interface is cumbersome, and modern features expected in current email marketing software are largely missing.
For this reason, it is worth looking at some free alternatives to phpList, which not only keep up but are in some cases significantly more advanced:
The best free alternatives to phpList
This overview also includes solutions that are generally paid but offer either a permanently free entry level or extended trial periods, qualifying them for this list.
Listmonk
Listmonk is a modern, solid, free alternative to phpList. The software offers a clear separation of lists and subscribers, campaign management, and classic newsletter mass mailing, and the admin interface is simple and modern:
The best features of listmonk include:
- Self-hosted & Open Source (full control of data, no license costs)
- Very high performance (for hundreds of thousands to millions of recipients)
- Modern architecture (Single Binary + PostgreSQL)
- Powerful segmentation (SQL-based segments, flexible & robust)
- REST API (ideal for integrations & automation)
- Multi-SMTP & Rate-Limiting (controlled sending)
- Templates with personalization (HTML, Markdown, dynamic content)
- Good tracking (opens, clicks, bounces)
- Clear, modern UI
- Resource-efficient (runs stably with low server overhead)
Installation here also presents a small challenge. A Linux server, Docker, and command-line access are required. Once installed, the software can be comfortably managed via the browser.
Mautic
Mautic is one of the best free all-in-one solutions for professional email marketing. It has a large community and is used by over 200,000 webmasters and companies. The software has been actively developed since 2014, providing long-term planning reliability.
In almost every area, it outperforms phpList — and it is free to use. Those who choose this modern email marketing platform enjoy the following advantages:
- Open Source & Self-hosted (no license costs, full control over data)
- Extensive marketing automation (multi-step journeys, triggers, conditions)
- Multi-channel campaigns (email, SMS, push, social, webhooks)
- Powerful lead & contact management (scoring, segments, fields)
- Deep integrations (CRM, CMS, shops, APIs)
- Flexible campaign design (visual campaign builder)
- Good tracking & analytics (events, conversions, reports)
- Large community & ecosystem
- Extensible via plugins
- Enterprise-ready (roles, permissions, tenant-like structures)
The biggest drawback is that the system is extensive and requires a lot of learning — even for sending simple newsletters. This is because Mautic is not a classic newsletter software but a full-fledged marketing automation platform.
The somewhat complex installation can also be seen as a negative point, but this process only needs to be done once and results in a very solid and professional solution for all email marketing needs.
Note that there is a hosted version and a self-hosted version. Most users will be interested in the self-hosted version, as it provides full control over data and does not involve recurring costs.
Recommended commercial alternatives to phpList
As promised, here are the best commercial alternatives to phpList. These are either permanently free at the basic level or allow very generous trial periods. All of these tools are optimized for commercial and professional email sending.
They are also specifically optimized for email delivery and email marketing. This results in very high deliverability rates, email open rates, and increased revenue through email campaigns.
AWeber
According to its countless users and the deliverability results from EmailDeliverabilityReport, AWeber is one of the first and best email marketing solutions. It focuses strictly on building a reliable and feature-rich email marketing platform for companies of all sizes.
It offers a free 14-day trial. During this time, you can try out all the features and even build your email list. The following features make AWeber a good choice for email marketing:
- Email marketing automation — drip campaigns, autoresponders, triggers
- Drag-and-drop email builder — easy visual design, mobile-responsive templates
- List management — segmentation, tags, subscriber management
- Signup forms & Landing pages — built-in form creation and hosting
- Integrations — connects with e-commerce, CRM, social media, and apps
- Analytics & Reporting — open rates, clicks, conversions, revenue tracking
- A/B testing — test subject lines and email variations
EmailDeliverabilityReport provides a detailed feature and overview report on AWeber. And there are deliverability reports for AWeber available.
GetResponse
GetResponse is much more than newsletter software. The platform covers many areas of online marketing, including automated email campaigns and landing page creation.
GetResponse is one of the oldest and most mature solutions on the market, making it one of the best. Hundreds of thousands of small and large businesses use this service. According to deliverability reports from EmailDeliverabilityReport, GetResponse consistently achieves excellent delivery rates, making email marketing very effective.
The most notable features include:
- Advanced marketing automation — visual workflow builder with triggers, conditions, and multi‑step sequences
- Email & Newsletter builder — drag‑and‑drop editor with responsive templates
- Webinars & Conversion funnels — built‑in tools for webinars, funnels, and landing pages
- Segmentation & Personalization — smart tagging, dynamic content, and targeted messaging
- Analytics & A/B testing — performance tracking, split tests, and conversion insights
GetResponse currently offers a 30-day free trial with full functionality. After the trial, there is no automatic renewal. The account can be kept without changing plans, but some professional features will then be disabled.
EmailDeliverabilityReport provides a detailed feature and overview report on GetResponse. And there are deliverability reports for GetResponse available.
MailChimp
Mailchimp is a popular cloud-based marketing platform that helps businesses manage and automate their email campaigns. It offers tools for email creation, audience segmentation, marketing automation, landing pages, and analytics.
Mailchimp is widely used by small to medium businesses due to its user-friendly interface, pre-built templates, and integrations with e-commerce, CRM, and social media platforms.
For the sake of completeness, MailChimp is a good fit for this list of complete and professional email marketing platforms that are actually very easy to use.
EmailDeliverabilityReport provides a detailed feature and overview report on MailChimp. And there are deliverability reports for MailChimp available.
Conclusion
Overall, there are numerous alternatives to phpList. Not all are as mature, but depending on the use case, they can be a good solution. Many of these alternatives need to be installed on your own domain — and this is often the biggest hurdle.
It is noticeable that self-hosted newsletter solutions have become very rare. More and more users prefer to rely on a service and leave the technical aspects entirely to professionals. Existing self-hosted solutions are often outdated, complicated to set up, or simply not powerful enough for modern email campaigns.
After comparing the different options, the recommendation is clear: for sustainable and professional email marketing, a professional newsletter service is usually the better choice. Other solutions are often difficult to set up, require high maintenance, or lack important professional features.
The positive aspect is that many professional email marketing services offer a free entry level. If the software meets your needs, the plan can be upgraded at any time, often including additional features.