listmonk vs Stalwart Mail Server
| Tagline | High-performance self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager | Modern all-in-one mail server with JMAP, IMAP4, and SMTP in a single Rust binary |
| Category | Email & Newsletters | Email & Newsletters |
| Replaces | Mailchimp, ConvertKit (Kit), SendGrid | Gmail / Google Workspace, SendGrid, Mailchimp |
| GitHub stars | 23k | 15k |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Self-host difficulty | 3/5 Moderate | 3/5 Moderate |
| Deploy options | Docker Docker Compose Manual | Docker Docker Compose Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | 2 days ago | 2 days ago |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
listmonk
- No built-in marketing automation/journey builder like Mailchimp
- No bundled deliverability/IP reputation management — you supply your own SMTP/SES
- No native landing page or e-commerce/CRM integrations
- Reporting and analytics are basic compared to commercial suites
Stalwart Mail Server
- No built-in newsletter/broadcast campaign tooling
- Web admin UI is functional but less refined than commercial email service dashboards
- Third-party anti-virus (ClamAV) integration requires additional setup
- Community support only on the free tier; paid support plans are limited
Bottom line
Both are a similar lift to self-host; choose listmonk for the larger community and ecosystem. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.
Stalwart Mail Server
Modern all-in-one mail server with JMAP, IMAP4, and SMTP in a single Rust binary