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 | 22k | 13k |
| 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 | 14 days ago | today |
| 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. Stalwart Mail Server has seen more recent development. 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