Listmonk

Listmonk is a high-performance, self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager. Unlike SaaS tools (Mailchimp, ConvertKit), there are no per-subscriber fees — you own the data and pay only for the SMTP relay.

What you get

• Unlimited subscribers and lists
• Visual template editor with HTML/plaintext support
• Campaign analytics (opens, clicks, bounces)
• Double opt-in, segments, and subscriber attributes
• REST API for programmatic management
• Bounce and complaint handling

Requirements

You also need an SMTP relay for sending. Listmonk doesn't send directly — it routes through your ESP.

Install

1. Deploy from the installer

   Control panel → App installer → Listmonk. Assign a domain (e.g. news.yourdomain.com). Provisioning takes about a minute.

2. Log in

   Visit https://news.yourdomain.com. The admin credentials appear in your control panel after install. Change the password immediately.

3. Configure SMTP

   Go to Settings → Messengers → SMTP and enter your relay credentials:

   Field	Example (Resend)	Example (Amazon SES)
   Host	smtp.resend.com	email-smtp.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com
   Port	465	587
   Auth	Login	Login
   Username	resend	SES SMTP username
   Password	API key	SES SMTP password
   TLS	Force TLS	STARTTLS

   Click Test connection to verify before saving.

4. Add DNS authentication

   For good deliverability, add these DNS records (your ESP provides exact values):

   • SPF — TXT record including your ESP's sending servers
   • DKIM — TXT or CNAME record for message signing
   • DMARC — v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com

5. Create your first list

   Go to Lists → Create list. Set a name, type (public or private), and opt-in mode (double recommended for compliance).

Sending your first campaign

1. Create a template

   Campaigns → Templates → Create. Use the visual editor or paste HTML. Include {{ .Subscriber.Email }} and an unsubscribe link ({{ .UnsubscribeURL }}).

2. Import subscribers

   Subscribers → Import. Upload a CSV with columns: email, name, attributes (JSON). Or use the API for programmatic subscribe.

3. Compose and send

   Campaigns → Create campaign. Choose template, subject line, target lists. Preview, send a test to yourself, then launch.

SMTP providers compared

Listmonk supports multiple SMTP providers simultaneously — route transactional through one and campaigns through another.

Subscriber management

• Segments — filter by attributes (country, signup date, custom fields)
• Double opt-in — sends a confirmation email before adding to list
• Blocklist — permanently remove addresses (GDPR-compliant deletion)
• Webhooks — trigger external systems on subscribe/unsubscribe events

Bounce handling

Configure your ESP to forward bounce notifications back to Listmonk via webhook. This automatically:

1. Marks hard bounces as blocklisted
2. Tracks soft bounces and retries
3. Keeps your list clean and reputation high

Analytics

The dashboard shows per-campaign:

• Send count, delivery rate
• Open rate (via tracking pixel)
• Click-through rate (via link wrapping)
• Bounce and complaint counts
• Unsubscribe rate

Disable tracking if you prefer privacy-first (turns off open/click tracking but keeps delivery metrics).

Backups

Daily automated backups cover the database (subscribers, campaigns, templates) and app configuration. Restore from the panel's Backups screen.

Troubleshooting

Related docs

• Apps overview
• Custom domain guide
• SSL certificates