You can cut costs, gain control, ditch monthly bills and own your list with any of these self-hosted email marketing platforms.
Running a small business is already expensive. Between website hosting, tools, ads, and that endless craving for “just one more” software subscription, you start to feel like your wallet’s got a leak. And email marketing? It’s one of the worst tools that takes money from you monthly.
You’re told it’s essential (and it is), but before you know it, you’re paying $50… $100… even $200 a month just to send emails to people in your email list.
But what if you could send unlimited emails, own your subscriber data, and ditch those recurring bills, all without coding skills? That’s the beauty of self-hosted email marketing platforms. They put the power (and the savings) back in your hands.
Whether you’re just starting a new business or are tired of spending recurring fees on paid monthly cloud-based email marketing software, this post will show you the best self-hosted email marketing tools for small businesses.
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What is a Self-Hosted Email Marketing Platform?
A self-hosted email marketing platform is software you install on your server or web hosting. Instead of paying a company like Mailerlite or Kit to handle your email marketing, you run the software yourself, like running your own CMS website, such as WordPress.
Using any cloud-based email marketing, such as HubSpot, is like renting an apartment; you live there, but the landlord sets the rules.
Using a self-hosted platform? You own the house. No limits on guests (your subscribers), no rent (monthly fees), and you decide how things run.
With self-hosted email marketing tools, you still get all the email marketing goodies, like:
- Building and managing email lists
- Creating newsletters and drip campaigns
- Automating follow-ups
- Tracking opens, clicks, and bounces
But here’s the catch: you need a few things to make it work:
- A web server (like a VPS or shared hosting account)
- An SMTP provider (like Amazon SES or Mailgun) to send the emails
- A little patience to set it up (but it’s not as scary as it sounds)
So why bother?
Because once it’s up and running, you can:
- Send thousands of emails for pennies
- Own all your subscriber data
- Say goodbye to rising monthly bills
Self-hosted email marketing platforms are perfect for small businesses, bloggers, marketers, and side entrepreneurs who want more control without breaking the bank.
Let’s talk about why small businesses should ditch expensive tools and move to self-hosted email marketing platforms.
Benefits of Self-Hosted Email Marketing for Small Businesses
If you’re running a small business, every dollar counts. And while email marketing is one of the most powerful ways to build trust, drive sales, and stay top-of-mind, the cost of using cloud-based tools can pile up fast.
That’s where self-hosted email marketing platforms come in, and here’s why small business owners are making the switch:
- No Monthly Subscription Fees
Most cloud-based email marketing software for small businesses charges based on your list size. You can pay up to $30 or more for just 1,000 subscribers.
With self-hosted email marketing tools like MailWizz, Relayzo, or Mautic, it’s a one-time payment or free (if open-source), and you can send as many email campaigns and automations as you want. No monthly fee.
- You Own Your Email List
You wouldn’t let another company hold your customer list hostage, right? But that’s exactly what happens with some platforms. With a self-hosted email marketing, your email list lives on your server or database. You can send as many emails as you want, and nobody can shut you down without notice.
- More Control Over Deliverability
If your emails aren’t landing in inboxes, what’s the point? Self-hosted email marketing tools let you pair with reliable SMTP servers of your choice, like Amazon SES, Mailgun, Bird, or Postmark. That means you fine-tune how emails are sent, and often get better deliverability than overpriced platforms.
- Custom Automations Without Restrictions
Want to send a welcome series, a birthday offer, or a re-engagement email? You don’t need a “Pro” or “Premium” plan for that.
Most self-hosted email marketing platforms come equipped with email automation features, which enable you to create sophisticated workflows without additional cost.
- Scales with Your Growth
As your business grows, your email list will too. With self-hosted email marketing platforms, you’re not penalised for success. Whether you have 500 or 50,000 subscribers, your costs stay low, and performance stays in your hands.
- More Flexibility and Integrations
You can tweak the platform however you like. Want to connect it to your online store, CRM, or landing page builder? No problem. Many self-hosted email marketing tools come with APIs, plugins, and integrations that allow you to integrate with your existing tech stack.
- Better Data Privacy
In industries where customer trust is key, and data privacy matters. Hosting your email marketing tool yourself means fewer third parties touching your subscriber data. You stay compliant and stay in control.
Top Self-Hosted Email Marketing Platforms
Looking to ditch the monthly fees and take full control of your email marketing? Here are the top self-hosted email marketing platforms that let you send unlimited emails, manage your contacts, and automate campaigns from your own server.
If you’re looking for a self-hosted email marketing platform with premium features without punching your wallet, MailWizz is a solid contender. Built for solo creators, small businesses, and agencies, MailWizz offers serious functionality at a fraction of what you’d pay for popular cloud-based tools.
And here’s the kicker: it’s a one-time payment. Buy it once, and it’s yours for life.
MailWizz is a self-hosted email marketing software that runs on your own server or hosting account. Once installed, it turns your dashboard into a full-featured email marketing machine. Think of it as your own Mailchimp, minus the recurring bills and subscriber limits.
It’s sold on CodeCanyon and has racked up thousands of sales with solid reviews from marketers, developers, and business owners worldwide.
Key Features of MailWizz
- Subscriber Management: Import, segment, and manage unlimited email lists
- Drag-and-Drop Email Builder: Easily create professional emails without touching code
- Autoresponders & Email Automation: Set up welcome emails, drip campaigns, birthday emails, etc.
- Campaign Scheduler: Choose when your campaigns go out—even set recurring sends
- Advanced Analytics: Track opens, clicks, bounces, and unsubscribes in real-time
- Bounce & Complaint Handling: Automatically manages soft/hard bounces and complaints
- Multi-user Support: Create client accounts or multiple users—great for agencies
- SMTP Integration: Works with Amazon SES, Mailgun, SparkPost, or your own SMTP
- API Access: For developers and integrations with CRMs, shopping carts, and websites
- Add-ons & Themes: Plenty of customisation options through plugins and skins
If you’re running a small business, blog, eCommerce store, or agency and want full control over your email marketing without monthly fees, MailWizz is a smart choice. MailWizz brings enterprise-level email marketing features to your business, without draining your marketing budget.
Pricing: $86 one-time payment for the Regular License, while the Extended License costs $275.
If you’re a small business or digital agency that sends email like a big brand, but doesn’t want to pay like one, Relayzo might be your secret weapon. If you want enterprise-grade deliverability, smart automation, and complete control over your email campaigns, without the excessive pricing or “Pro” plan walls, Relayzo delivers in a big way.
With the Relayzo self-hosted email marketing platform, you’re not locked into monthly subscriber caps or limited functionality. Instead, it hands you full control, unlimited subscribers, and the ability to run high-volume email campaigns without breaking a sweat (or your budget).
This isn’t your average “Mailchimp alternative.” Relayzo comes loaded with a drag-and-drop builder, advanced analytics, an AI campaign assistant, PowerMTA integration, and support for sending millions of emails per hour. It’s built for scale, but still user-friendly for small businesses ready to grow fast.
Key Features of Relayzo
- Unlimited Subscribers, No Hidden Fees
Grow your list without worrying about hitting a ceiling. Relayzo lets you email your entire audience, whether 500 people or 5 million, without charging per contact.
- AI Campaign Assistant
Relayzo’s built-in AI helps you brainstorm subject lines, plan campaign sequences, and analyse results, all through a chat-style interface. No data scientist required.
- Drag-and-Drop Email Builder
Design beautiful, mobile-friendly emails with zero coding. Relayzo’s WYSIWYG editor is perfect for designing polished newsletters, promos, or drip campaigns.
- Email Automation with Behavioural Triggers
Set up automated email flows triggered by user behaviour, like clicks, opens, dates, or purchases. Relayzo’s email automation helps you nurture leads and boost conversions on autopilot.
- Agency-Friendly Client Management
Run multiple brands or clients under one roof. Relayzo supports multi-tenant architecture, role-based access, and white-label branding.
- PowerMTA Integration
This is a big one. Relayzo integrates with PowerMTA for full control over email deliverability, IP warmups, domain reputation, and advanced sending rules.
- Smart Contact Segmentation
With Relayzo, you can use custom fields and filters to create targeted segments based on location, engagement, tags, or behaviour. Personalise at scale and keep unsubscribes low.
Relayzo is ideal for small businesses that are scaling fast and want to ditch email limits, or agencies managing multiple clients and want full control over campaigns.
Pricing: The regular License costs $39, and the Extended License costs $199
If you’re looking for a self-hosted email marketing software that does more than just send emails, and doesn’t charge you unfairly every month, Maildoll deserves your serious attention.
It’s not just another email marketing script tossed on a server. Maildoll combines bulk email sending, SMS marketing, drag-and-drop email building, and even payment processing under one roof. Think of it as a full-fledged marketing automation platform, without subscription fees, message caps, or subscriber limits.
Whether you’re nurturing leads, launching promos, or re-engaging past customers, Maildoll helps small businesses and marketers reach people fast with email and SMS campaigns.
If you’re looking for a cost-effective self-hosted email and SMS marketing tool that delivers solid features with zero ongoing bills, Maildoll will get the job done fast, clean, and without fuss. And if you run an agency that needs white-label or resells email marketing services, Maildoll is a perfect tool for you.
Key Features of Maildoll
- Unlimited Subscribers with One-Time Payment
Say goodbye to subscription anxiety. Pay once and send to as many contacts as your server allows, via email or SMS. It’s an ideal platform for small businesses on a budget.
- Email + SMS Marketing in One
Maildoll isn’t just for email. You can create and send bulk SMS campaigns alongside your emails. Perfect for businesses that want to hit both inboxes and phones without surfing two platforms.
- Drag-and-Drop Campaign Builder
Design emails like a pro, even if you’re not one. Maildoll’s intuitive builder lets you add images, text, buttons, and more without touching a single line of HTML code.
- Email Checker
Before you hit send, Maildoll scans your email addresses for errors to help boost email deliverability and reduce bounce rates.
- Scheduling & Automation
With Maildoll, you can plan campaigns in advance and automate your workflow. This feature is perfect for time-based offers, welcome sequences, or reactivation emails.
- Smart Contact Segmentation
You can filter and group subscribers using tags, behaviours, or custom fields to deliver personalised email content that resonates with your audience.
- Built-In Payment Integration
If you run Maildoll as a SaaS and need to collect payments, Maildoll integrates with over 9 major payment gateways. A rare feature for cloud email platforms, especially at this price point.
Pricing: The regular License costs $39, and the Extended License costs $199
If you’re tired of being boxed in by “free plans” that aren’t free, or watching your monthly bill climb every time your list grows, Acelle is another powerful self-hosted email marketing platform you can deploy and start sending unlimited email campaigns.
This self-hosted email marketing software will give you full ownership and control. No forced upgrades, no subscriber limits, no third-party lock-in. Whether you’re a solo business owner, a freelancer, or an agency, Acelle will help you send high-volume email campaigns on your own terms, either through your own SMTP or trusted providers like Amazon SES, Mailgun, Elasticemail, and SendGrid.
If you’re looking for full control over your email marketing software, everything from sending infrastructure and campaign reporting to white-label services and offering email marketing as a service and without recurring subscription fees, Acelle is a smart, efficient, and budget-friendly option.
Key Features of Acelle Mail
- 100% One-time Payment
Buy it once, install it yourself, and make it yours. You have full code access and zero limitations. Perfect for developers and businesses that want long-term flexibility.
- Send Emails Your Way
You can use your own SMTP server (like Postfix, Exim, or Qmail), or plug into services like Amazon SES, Mailgun, SendGrid, ElasticEmail, or SparkPost. You can always choose how your emails are delivered.
- Campaign Performance Tracking
With Acelle, you get deep insight into how your campaigns are performing, such as open rates, click-through rates, bounce stats, and more. Acelle even shows click-to-open ratios and subscriber-level engagement.
- Contact-Level Insights
Want to know exactly how individual subscribers engage with your campaigns? Acelle gives you a contact-by-contact report so you can see who’s hot and who’s gone cold.
- SaaS-Ready
Want to resell email marketing services to other businesses? Acelle includes built-in SaaS features so you can create customer accounts, set limits, and charge for email usage under your brand.
- List Management & Segmentation
Create lists, segment subscribers, and personalise your content using tags and filters. Works great for sending more relevant emails and reducing unsubscribes.
- Email Scheduling
Schedule campaigns in advance, build autoresponders, or drip emails over time. Acelle handles all the basics of email automation with ease.
Pricing: $69 One-time payment for a regular License or $199 for an Extended License
If your ideal email marketing platform feels more like a control panel than a clunky tool, Swift Send might be what you’ve been looking for. It’s built to do more, without feeling like more work.
From one-time blasts to automated drip sequences, Swift Send gives you full control over your emails, SMS, contacts, and everything in between.
If you are a small business owner or an agency that manages multiple brands, Swift Send will give you the essentials you need to run a successful email and SMS campaign. Bulk email sending, smart segmentation, AI subject line suggestions, and even KYC features, under one clean dashboard.
And yes, it supports over 37 payment gateways. That’s not just convenient, it’s rare.
If you need more than just a place to “blast emails,” Swift Send is a well-equipped, self-hosted platform that plays like a premium SaaS with AI-driven features, multi-user roles, and list controlminus the monthly bill.
Key Features of Swift Send
- Single Sends + Automation
Send quick one-off campaigns or schedule multi-step sequences. Whether it’s a flash sale or a welcome series, Swift Send handles it, no matter the size of your email list.
- Contact & Segment Management
With Swift Send, you can import contacts, create custom fields, and slice your list into precise segments to send relevant emails that speak directly to specific groups.
- AI-Generated Subject Lines
Not sure what to write? Swift Send’s AI can help you craft better subject lines based on performance trends and engagement data.
- Built-In Email Checker
Swift Send lets you avoid bad emails and reduce bounce rates with a built-in tool that validates your list before sending.
- Suppression List Management
With Swift Send, you can manage unsubscribes and exclusions effortlessly to keep your list clean, your reputation intact, and your emails compliant with spam laws.
- Email + SMS Gateways
Swift Send also serves as a multi-channel marketing tool; it doesn’t just send email, but also supports SMS. You can use multiple gateways to reach your customers on the channel they prefer.
- KYC & Payment Gateway Integration
Built-in KYC features make Swift Send SaaS-ready. Add to that 37+ payment gateways, and you’ve got a full email marketing business ready to go.
- Support Ticket System
Need customer support features baked into your platform? Swift Send includes a native support system for client-facing setups.
Pricing: $49 one-time payment for the Regular License, while the Extended License costs $499.
Mautic is a self-hosted, open-source email marketing platform built for businesses that want serious automation power without the bloated price tag. It goes beyond simple broadcasts.
You get email sequences, lead tracking, CRM-style contact management, and cutting-edge campaign workflows that would normally cost hundreds per month.
It’s not just an email tool. It’s a full-blown marketing automation system, but one that doesn’t break your budget.
If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and want full control over your email marketing automation, Mautic gives you the firepower, no limits, no monthly bills, just smart campaigns on your own terms.
Key Features of Mautic
- Advanced Email Automation
You can use Mautic visual campaign builders to create multi-step sequences based on user behaviour. Trigger emails when someone fills a form, visits a page, or opens a previous message. Mautic is a complete marketing automation tool at its best.
- Lead Tracking & Scoring
Mautic doesn’t just store emails; it tracks contact activity. It logs page visits, email clicks, form submissions, and more. Use lead scoring to rank contacts and send the right messages at the right time.
- Segmentation & Personalization
Mautic helps you create dynamic segments that update automatically based on user behaviour, location, or tags. You can also personalise emails with contact details to boost open rates and engagement.
- CRM & Integrations
Mautic includes light CRM features and integrates with your existing tools like WordPress, Salesforce, and Zapier. This makes it easy to build a marketing stack around your business.
- Multi-Channel Campaigns
Beyond email, Mautic lets you engage through SMS, web push, social, and even in-app messages (with the right add-ons). It’s designed to meet your audience wherever they are.
- Email Scheduling & A/B Testing
With Mautic, you can schedule sends by date, time, or user behaviour. You can also run A/B tests to see which subject line or content works best.
Pricing: Free
Self-Hosted Email Marketing Platform Comparison
Let’s be real, choosing the right self-hosted email marketing platform can be difficult most of the time. They all promise cutting-edge technology, but not everyone will hit the spot for your business.
Some platforms offer AI tools and drag-and-drop simplicity. Others lean into raw power, automation, and full control. To help you spot what matters most, here’s a side-by-side breakdown of the core features, strengths, and trade-offs of the top 6 self-hosted email marketing platforms.
| Feature / Tool | MailWizz | Relayzo | Maildoll | Acelle | Swift Send | Mautic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $86 (one-time) | $37 (one-time) | $39 (one-time) | $69 (one-time) | $49 (one-time) | Free |
| Self-host | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Automation | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| SMS Support | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| SaaS Ready | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ |
| User Role | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Tracking | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Forms | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
What You’ll Need to Get Started
So, you’ve picked your self-hosted email marketing platform. Awesome. But before you go firing off emails like a digital cowboy, there are a few essentials you’ll need to get the engine running smoothly.
- A VPS or Web Hosting Plan
You’re not using a plug-and-play tool here. These platforms need a home.
A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is your best bet as it gives you more control, better speed, and fewer headaches when sending bulk emails. You can go for a better VPS like Namecheap, HostAfrica, Vultr, or Linode.
- A Reliable SMTP Server or Email Delivery Service
This is what actually sends your emails out. You have two choices:
- Host your own SMTP (Postfix, Exim, etc.); this gives you full control, but requires technical know-how.
- Use a third-party SMTP like:
- Amazon SES (cheap and powerful)
- SendGrid
- Mailgun
- Elastic Email
Some platforms like Relayzo even integrate with PowerMTA, which is a high-performance delivery engine made for serious senders.
Final Thoughts
Self-hosting email marketing isn’t for everyone, but for smart entrepreneurs, digital marketers, agencies, and small business owners who want control, freedom, and scalability without recurring fees, it can be a game-changer in your business.
Instead of renting limited access on someone else’s platform, you build your own system. You own the data. You decide the rules. You send to as many subscribers as you like, without tearing your wallet every time you press “Send.”
But let’s be real: it comes with responsibility. You’ll need to set up hosting, configure email authentication, and keep your list clean. You’re trading convenience for control and cost-efficiency. If that trade sounds fair, you’re already ahead of 90% of small businesses stuck in the cycle of overpriced SaaS subscriptions and underperforming inbox results.
But the truth is that tools like Relayzo, MailWizz, Mautic, and the rest on this list are easy to set up, even if you’re not a tech wizard. With the right setup, self-hosted email platforms can handle millions of emails, hyper-targeted automation, and campaign analytics just as well, if not better, than most big-name tools you are paying for.
So, if you:
- Want to stop paying for subscribers who never open your emails
- Want better deliverability without third-party limitations
- Want a platform that scales with your business
If you’re ready to roll with a self-hosted email marketing platform. Pick your platform, follow the setup steps, and take full control of your email marketing campaign.
We also offer expert assistance with setting up and properly configuring any email marketing platform on your server. If you need support, feel free to leave a comment below or contact us directly.
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