Listmonk — Self-Hosted Newsletter & Mailing List Manager

What Listmonk Does

• Subscriber Management: Import, segment, and manage subscriber lists with custom attributes
• Campaign Creation: Rich HTML email editor with template support and media management
• Transactional Email: API for sending transactional emails (welcome, reset, notifications)
• Analytics: Open rates, click rates, bounce tracking, and campaign performance metrics
• List Segmentation: Dynamic segments based on subscriber attributes and engagement
• Double Opt-in: Configurable double opt-in with customizable confirmation emails
• Template System: Go template engine for dynamic, personalized email content
• Multi-list: Manage multiple independent mailing lists from one instance
• SMTP Integration: Works with any SMTP provider (SES, Postmark, SendGrid, self-hosted)
• API: Full REST API for programmatic subscriber and campaign management

Architecture

┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐
│  Admin UI    │────▶│  Listmonk    │────▶│  PostgreSQL  │
│  (React)     │     │  Server (Go) │     │  (Subscribers│
└──────────────┘     └──────┬───────┘     │  & Campaigns)│
                            │             └──────────────┘
                     ┌──────┴───────┐
                     │  SMTP Server │
                     │  (SES/SMTP)  │
                     └──────────────┘

Self-Hosting

Docker Compose (Recommended)

services:
  listmonk:
    image: listmonk/listmonk:latest
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
    environment:
      TZ: Asia/Shanghai
    volumes:
      - ./config.toml:/listmonk/config.toml
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: listmonk
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: listmonk
      POSTGRES_DB: listmonk
    volumes:
      - pg-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  pg-data:

SMTP Configuration

# config.toml
[smtp]
  host = "email-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com"
  port = 587
  auth_protocol = "login"
  username = "YOUR_SES_KEY"
  password = "YOUR_SES_SECRET"
  tls_type = "STARTTLS"
  max_conns = 10
  idle_timeout = "15s"
  wait_timeout = "5s"

Recommended SMTP providers:

• Amazon SES: $0.10/1000 emails (cheapest at scale)
• Postmark: $1.25/1000 emails (best deliverability)
• SendGrid: 100/day free, then $0.50/1000
• Self-hosted: Postfix/Haraka (free but requires IP reputation management)

Key Features

Campaign Templates

<!-- Use Go template syntax -->
<h1>Hello {{ .Subscriber.FirstName }}!</h1>

{{ if eq .Subscriber.Attribs.plan "pro" }}
  <p>As a Pro subscriber, you get early access to...</p>
{{ else }}
  <p>Upgrade to Pro for exclusive content...</p>
{{ end }}

<a href="{{ .TrackLink "https://example.com/offer" }}">
  Check out our latest offer
</a>

<p>Unsubscribe: {{ .UnsubscribeURL }}</p>

REST API

# Add subscriber
curl -X POST http://localhost:9000/api/subscribers 
  -u "admin:admin" 
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" 
  -d '{"email": "user@example.com", "name": "John", "lists": [1], "attribs": {"plan": "free"}}'

# Send transactional email
curl -X POST http://localhost:9000/api/tx 
  -u "admin:admin" 
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" 
  -d '{"subscriber_email": "user@example.com", "template_id": 1, "data": {"order_id": "12345"}}'

# Create campaign
curl -X POST http://localhost:9000/api/campaigns 
  -u "admin:admin" 
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" 
  -d '{"name": "Weekly Update", "subject": "This Week in Tech", "lists": [1], "type": "regular", "content_type": "richtext", "body": "<h1>Hello!</h1>"}'

Subscriber Import

Import from CSV with custom attribute mapping:

email,name,plan,signup_date
john@example.com,John Doe,pro,2024-01-15
jane@example.com,Jane Smith,free,2024-02-20

Supports importing hundreds of thousands of subscribers in seconds.

Listmonk vs Alternatives

FAQ

Q: What's Listmonk's email deliverability like? A: Deliverability depends on your SMTP provider and domain configuration (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), not on Listmonk itself. Using professional services like Amazon SES or Postmark can achieve 95%+ deliverability.

Q: How many subscribers can it handle? A: A single Listmonk instance easily manages millions of subscribers. The Go backend is extremely efficient; send speed is mainly limited by SMTP, not Listmonk itself.

Q: Does it support automated email sequences? A: Listmonk currently focuses on one-time and scheduled campaigns. Automated sequences (like welcome drips) can be built with the API + an external scheduler. Native automation is on the roadmap.