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AcelleMail vs listmonk

AcelleMail vs listmonk — self-hosted email marketing, two architectures

Side-by-side comparison of AcelleMail (PHP + MySQL/MariaDB, one-time $80 license, plugin SDK, multi-tenant SaaS layer) and listmonk (Go + PostgreSQL, AGPLv3, single binary). Pricing, sending drivers, automation, integrations, and a step-by-step migration guide.

Auf einen Blick AcelleMail listmonk
License model Commercial license — $80 Regular / $199 Extended on CodeCanyon. Full PHP source included; modifications stay private. AGPLv3 (free software). Source available; modifications distributed externally must also be AGPLv3.
Hosting Self-hosted on Linux + PHP 8.1+ + MySQL/MariaDB. ~512 MB RAM minimum. Self-hosted on a single Go binary + PostgreSQL ≥ 12. No managed/SaaS option offered by the project.
Stack PHP 8.1+ (Laravel-based), MySQL/MariaDB, optional Redis cache. Go backend, Vue + Buefy frontend, PostgreSQL ≥ 12.
Sending integrations 8 built-in drivers — Amazon SES, SendGrid, SparkPost, Mailgun, Elastic Email, Blastengine, Gmail relay, generic SMTP — plus plugin SDK for additional vendors. Default SMTP backend. "Messenger" architecture lets you POST campaigns to a JSON HTTP endpoint; community-maintained messengers exist for AWS Pinpoint SMS, Verimor, Mailersend, Novu, and Google FCM.
Automation builder Visual workflow builder (Automation2) with trigger/wait/condition/send/segment-update nodes. Included on every license. Campaign types include regular, optin, and scheduled. Recurring/automated sequences are built via the API or external schedulers.
Multi-tenancy / SaaS Extended License ($199) ships a multi-tenant layer — customer accounts, plans, 6 payment gateways, dunning, white-label. Single-instance install. Multi-tenant deployments require running multiple instances; not bundled in core.
Plugin SDK 4-pattern Hook system (REGISTRY, EVENT, FILTER, BEHAVIOR). Plugins live under storage/app/plugins/. See Plugin SDK. Extension via Messengers (HTTP webhooks for sending) and the public REST API. No in-process plugin system in core.
Funktionsparität

Funktion-für-Funktion-Vergleich

Rund 30 Attribute in 7 Kategorien gegliedert, aus AcelleMail v4.2 und der öffentlichen Funktionsdokumentation von Mailchimp entnommen. Jedes lässt sich anhand der zitierten Quelle überprüfen.

Email creation

Funktion AcelleMail listmonk Hinweise
Drag-and-drop email builder AcelleMail ships a visual block editor with mobile preview. listmonk uses HTML / Markdown templates rendered through Go templating (custom blocks possible via campaign template body).
100+ pre-built templates AcelleMail bundles a starter template gallery. listmonk ships with default campaign templates and supports user-imported HTML templates.
Full HTML editor Both let you edit raw HTML/CSS for campaigns.
Spintax / dynamic content AcelleMail includes spintax + per-subscriber merge fields. listmonk supports template logic via Go template syntax — subscriber attributes interpolate but spintax-style randomization is not built in.
A/B testing AcelleMail supports subject-line and content split tests. listmonk's campaign model does not include built-in A/B testing.
Multi-language campaigns AcelleMail tracks per-subscriber language attributes for segmentation. listmonk supports per-subscriber attribute fields that can be used for similar filtering.

Lists & segmentation

Funktion AcelleMail listmonk Hinweise
Unlimited subscribers Both tools impose no software-side cap. Limits come from the database and server.
Multiple lists Both tools support unlimited lists.
Advanced segmentation (any-condition) AcelleMail provides a visual segment builder over subscriber fields, behavior, tags, and date logic. listmonk supports SQL-based subscriber queries — flexible but text-driven rather than UI-driven.
Tags Both support tag-style subscriber labeling.
Embeddable signup forms Both generate embeddable signup forms.
Double opt-in Both include double opt-in flows.
Bulk import (CSV) Both support CSV mass import. AcelleMail also supports XLSX and direct DB seed.

Automation

Funktion AcelleMail listmonk Hinweise
Trigger-based workflows AcelleMail Automation2 supports trigger / wait / condition / send / tag-update / segment-move nodes. listmonk supports campaign scheduling and templated transactional sends; multi-step trigger flows are built via API + external scheduler.
Customer journey / multi-step flows AcelleMail ships a visual multi-step journey builder. listmonk supports regular, opt-in, and scheduled campaign types per its docs; multi-step journeys are typically composed via the public API + cron + external scheduler.
RSS-to-email AcelleMail can pull RSS feeds into scheduled campaigns. listmonk supports the same via campaign body templating + scheduled execution.
Birthday / anniversary emails AcelleMail supports date-field triggers natively. listmonk supports date-field segmentation and scheduled sends; recurring date triggers are typically built with a cron-driven script against the API.
Behavioral triggers (clicks/opens) AcelleMail exposes engagement events as automation triggers. listmonk records click/open events that can be queried via API for downstream automation.

Deliverability

Funktion AcelleMail listmonk Hinweise
SPF / DKIM / DMARC tooling AcelleMail surfaces SPF/DKIM/DMARC record generation in the sending-server config. listmonk relies on the upstream SMTP provider for DKIM signing — listmonk itself sends through SMTP and inherits the provider's authentication setup.
Custom sending domain (return path) AcelleMail supports custom return-path on every license. listmonk inherits return-path from the configured SMTP server.
Multiple sending services AcelleMail ships 8 built-in drivers (SES, SendGrid, SparkPost, Mailgun, Elastic Email, Blastengine, Gmail, generic SMTP). listmonk's default backend is SMTP; additional providers are integrated by deploying a community Messenger HTTP endpoint.
IP warmup configuration AcelleMail supports daily/hourly send caps per sending server for gradual warmup. listmonk supports configurable concurrency + rate limits per messenger.
Click maps + spam scoring AcelleMail provides click heatmaps and SpamAssassin-style scoring on each campaign. listmonk records click events in campaign analytics; spam-score scanning is not in core.
Bounce / complaint webhook ingestion Both ingest bounce events. AcelleMail registers webhook endpoints for SES/SendGrid/Mailgun/etc. (see app/SendingServers/Webhooks/). listmonk supports SES, SendGrid, and Postmark bounce webhooks per its bounce-processing docs.

Integrations

Funktion AcelleMail listmonk Hinweise
REST API AcelleMail's REST API is documented at /api and is the same API the dashboard uses. listmonk publishes a comprehensive HTTP API documented at listmonk.app/docs/apis/.
Webhooks AcelleMail emits outbound event webhooks (subscribe, unsubscribe, click, open, etc.). listmonk's "Messenger" model is a one-direction webhook for outbound campaign delivery; inbound bounce webhooks are supported separately.
WordPress / WooCommerce sync AcelleMail provides an official WordPress / WooCommerce plugin. listmonk does not ship a WordPress integration in core; community examples exist.
Zapier / Make / n8n AcelleMail is pre-listed on Zapier / Make / n8n. listmonk is reachable from these tools via its REST API but is not a first-party app on Zapier.
Custom plugin SDK AcelleMail ships a four-pattern Hook system (REGISTRY, EVENT, FILTER, BEHAVIOR) — see Plugin SDK. listmonk extension is via Messengers (HTTP) + REST API; there is no in-process plugin runtime in core.

SaaS / multi-tenancy

Funktion AcelleMail listmonk Hinweise
Multi-tenant workspaces AcelleMail Extended ($199) ships a reseller layer with customer accounts, plans, and billing. listmonk is delivered as a single-tenant product; multi-tenant operation requires running multiple instances.
Subscription plans + payment gateways AcelleMail bundles 6 payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, Razorpay, Paystack, Offline) for resellers. listmonk does not include billing or subscription primitives.
White-label / remove vendor branding AcelleMail Extended removes branding for reseller use. listmonk's admin UI is brandable via static asset replacement; the AGPLv3 license imposes source-availability obligations on modified deployments offered as a service to others.
Reseller billing / dunning AcelleMail's Cashier package covers subscriptions, prorated upgrades, and dunning. listmonk does not provide subscription billing primitives.

Operations

Funktion AcelleMail listmonk Hinweise
Single-binary deployment AcelleMail is a PHP application — runs under PHP-FPM + nginx/Apache. listmonk ships a single Go binary that embeds the web UI and worker.
Database — relational AcelleMail uses MySQL ≥ 5.7 or MariaDB ≥ 10.3. listmonk requires PostgreSQL ≥ 12.
Cron / background workers AcelleMail relies on a system cron entry that triggers campaign workers. listmonk runs its own internal scheduler within the same binary.
Localization (UI translations) AcelleMail ships 18 locales out of the box. listmonk supports a Vue i18n locale layer with community-contributed translations.

Cost & ownership

Funktion AcelleMail listmonk Hinweise
License cost AcelleMail Regular is $80 one-time; Extended is $199 (commercial, includes lifetime point/minor updates + 6 months support). listmonk is AGPLv3 — free of license fee with copyleft obligations on modified service deployments.
Lifetime updates AcelleMail license includes lifetime point + minor releases. listmonk releases publicly on GitHub; users pull updates manually.
Data export ownership Both run on a database you control — full SQL access, CSV export, and REST API.
Source code visibility AcelleMail ships full unencrypted PHP source under a CodeCanyon Regular/Extended license. listmonk's Go source is on GitHub under AGPLv3.
Gesamtbetriebskosten

3-Jahres-Kosten in drei realen Szenarien

Both AcelleMail and listmonk are self-hosted, so the running cost is dominated by VPS + sending service rather than license. AcelleMail figures use the verifiable $80 license + small VPS + Amazon SES at $0.10 per 1,000 emails. listmonk figures use the same VPS / sending budget without a license cost.

Small business — 1,000 contacts, 4× sends/month

listmonk — listmonk (AGPLv3) + small VPS + SMTP $5/mo VPS + $0.40/mo SES (4,000 sends × $0.0001)
$0 license + $180 VPS + $14 SES = $194 total
AcelleMail — AcelleMail Regular License + small VPS + SES $5/mo VPS + $0.40/mo SES (4,000 sends × $0.0001)
$80 license + $180 VPS + $14 SES = $268 total

AcelleMail license adds $80 over 3 years; running cost is otherwise comparable. The decision is feature breadth + visual builder + plugin SDK, not raw cost.

Growing newsletter — 10,000 contacts, 80,000 sends/month

listmonk — listmonk (AGPLv3) + $10 VPS + SES $10/mo VPS + $8/mo SES (80,000 × $0.0001)
$0 license + $360 VPS + $288 SES = $648 total
AcelleMail — AcelleMail Regular License + $10 VPS + SES $10/mo VPS + $8/mo SES (80,000 × $0.0001)
$80 license + $360 VPS + $288 SES = $722 total

Running costs are identical at this volume. AcelleMail license is $80 over 3 years; the choice is automation depth, integrations breadth, and plugin SDK.

Agency / SaaS — 50,000 contacts, 400,000 sends/month, 50 client tenants

listmonk — listmonk (AGPLv3) + $20 VPS + SES, 50 instances OR custom multi-tenant build Single instance: $20 VPS + $40 SES = $60. Multi-tenant requires either separate listmonk instances (50 × $5–10 VPS + ops overhead) or a custom routing layer.
50 instances ≈ $0 license + $9,000 VPS + $1,440 SES = $10,440 total (plus ops time per tenant).
AcelleMail — AcelleMail Extended License ($199) + $20 VPS + SES (multi-tenant on a single instance) $20/mo VPS + $40/mo SES (400,000 × $0.0001) — covers all 50 tenants on one install.
$199 license + $720 VPS + $1,440 SES = $2,359 total

AcelleMail Extended ships a multi-tenant SaaS layer (customer accounts, plans, 6 payment gateways, dunning) that listmonk does not. Operating cost difference comes from running one consolidated install vs many.

Migrations-Leitfaden

listmonk → AcelleMail in sieben Schritten

Die meisten Teams schließen den Umstieg innerhalb einer Woche ab. Das technische Setup dauert einen halben Tag; zeitintensiv ist der Wiederaufbau mehrstufiger Automatisierungen und Vorlagen.

  1. 1. Export from listmonk

    listmonk's admin UI exports subscribers per list as CSV (Subscribers → Export). For the full data set, the public API at GET /api/subscribers returns paginated JSON including subscriber attributes, lists, and tags. Campaign HTML can be retrieved per-campaign via GET /api/campaigns/{id}. Click/open analytics can be pulled from the campaign-views and campaign-clicks tables in PostgreSQL directly if needed for migration analysis.
  2. 2. Get AcelleMail

    Buy the Regular License — $80 on CodeCanyon. Download the ZIP, upload to your server, run the web installer (5 minutes — sets DB, admin user, cron). PHP 8.1+, MySQL ≥ 5.7 or MariaDB ≥ 10.3, ~512 MB RAM minimum. The installation guide walks through cPanel, DigitalOcean, AWS, and Docker.
  3. 3. Configure your sending service

    In Sending Servers → Add, pick Amazon SES (recommended — cheapest), SendGrid, Mailgun, SparkPost, Postmark, Elastic Email, or any SMTP. Paste your API key. AcelleMail handles SPF/DKIM record generation and DKIM signing. Run the test-send to confirm. The 8 built-in drivers live in app/SendingServers/Drivers/Vendors/; additional vendors can be added via the plugin SDK.
  4. 4. Import contacts + attributes

    In Lists → Create List, recreate your listmonk lists with their attribute schema (listmonk attributes map to AcelleMail subscriber custom fields one-to-one). Use Import → Upload CSV and map columns. Tags map directly. For lists over 100k, use the chunked import or seed via the REST API.
  5. 5. Recreate templates and campaigns

    For templates, paste your listmonk HTML/Markdown into AcelleMail's template editor. Merge syntax differs: listmonk uses {{ .Subscriber.FirstName }} Go template syntax; AcelleMail uses {{ subscriber.first_name }} Twig-style syntax. Subscriber attribute access is equivalent. For automation flows, use Automation → New Workflow — listmonk has no equivalent visual builder, so multi-step flows previously built via cron + API can be expressed as visual journeys.
  6. 6. Configure tracking + DKIM

    AcelleMail tracking is enabled by default per campaign (open pixel + link wrapping). DKIM signing is configured at the Sending Server level — paste the DNS records AcelleMail generates into your domain. If you were running listmonk on the same domain, the existing DKIM keys can usually be reused if the sending vendor matches. Otherwise, plan to publish new DKIM records and let DNS propagate before the cutover send.
  7. 7. Test deliverability + cut over

    Send a test campaign to GlockApps or Mail-Tester (free). Aim for 9.5/10. Send your next live campaign from AcelleMail in parallel for one cycle, watch open/click rates against your prior baseline, then turn off the listmonk install. Most teams cut over inside a week.
Operative Eignung

Wann Self-Hosting nicht passt

Selbstgehostetes E-Mail-Marketing ist ein Tradeoff: geringere Kosten und volle Datenhoheit im Gegenzug zu operativer Verantwortung. In den folgenden Situationen kann ein verwaltetes SaaS die bessere Wahl sein.

  • You prefer Go over PHP for your infrastructure

    AcelleMail is a PHP/Laravel application. Teams that standardize on Go binaries for operational simplicity may prefer listmonk's single-binary deployment model — the runtime + worker live in one process and there is no PHP-FPM or Composer dependency to manage. The tradeoff is around bundled features: AcelleMail bundles visual automation, plugin SDK, and a multi-tenant SaaS layer in core; listmonk users typically build comparable workflows via external automation against listmonk's REST API.

  • You already run PostgreSQL and don't want MySQL

    AcelleMail runs on MySQL/MariaDB. Teams whose data infrastructure standardizes on PostgreSQL may prefer listmonk's native PostgreSQL stack to avoid running a second relational engine. AcelleMail does not currently support PostgreSQL.

  • You don't need a visual automation / multi-tenant SaaS layer

    AcelleMail's bundled features include a visual automation builder, the plugin SDK, and the Extended-License multi-tenant layer with payment gateways. If your use case is a single-instance broadcast list with scheduled campaigns and you're comfortable composing multi-step flows in code against a REST API, listmonk's default feature set covers that without additional layers.

  • Your project requires AGPL software

    Some organizations have a software policy that requires copyleft licenses for self-hosted services. listmonk's AGPLv3 satisfies that requirement; AcelleMail is distributed under a CodeCanyon Regular/Extended license that does not impose AGPL-style copyleft.

Kosten nach Anwendungsfall

Drei Käufersituationen

Die Kostenzahlen kombinieren die verifizierten Einstiegspreise mit kalkulator-basierten Spannen, sofern verfügbar. Vergleichen Sie die Zahlen; die richtige Wahl hängt davon ab, wie gut Ihr Team die oben genannten operativen Tradeoffs schultert.

  • SaaS team — product newsletter

    Situation: 8,000 trial signups + 2,000 paid customers, weekly product newsletter, 4-step onboarding drip, billing notifications.

    listmonk-Kosten: listmonk + $10/mo VPS + $2/mo SES. Onboarding drip is built as a 4-step API-driven sequence with cron-triggered scheduled campaigns; 4-step state-machine logic lives outside listmonk.

    AcelleMail-Kosten: $80 once + $10/mo DigitalOcean droplet + ~$2/mo SES. The 4-step drip is a single visual workflow in Automation2 — trigger on signup → wait → check engagement → send next email.

  • Marketing agency — 50 client lists

    Situation: Email service for 50 small-business clients, average 2,000 subscribers each, monthly newsletter + occasional promo.

    listmonk-Kosten: listmonk: 50 instances (~$5/mo each VPS) ≈ $250/mo + ops time per tenant, OR a custom routing layer over a single instance. SaaS billing primitives are not included.

    AcelleMail-Kosten: $199 Extended License once + $40/mo VPS + ~$30/mo SES total across all clients on one install. Built-in SaaS layer: per-client login, plans, dunning, 6 payment gateways.

  • Indie newsletter — 5,000 subscribers

    Situation: Weekly newsletter, no automation flows, transactional sends for password resets only.

    listmonk-Kosten: listmonk + $5/mo VPS + ~$0.30/mo SES + Postgres operating cost. Free of license fee.

    AcelleMail-Kosten: $80 license + $5/mo VPS + ~$0.30/mo SES. License recovers ~24 months of avoided SaaS subscription if previously paying for hosted email.

Operator-Deep-Dives

Für den Operator, der die Migration durchführt

Klicken Sie auf eine Überschrift, um einen technischen Deep-Dive aufzuklappen. Gleicher Inhalt wie die Marketing-Seite oben — hier eingeklappt, damit die Seite schnell überfliegbar bleibt, aber jederzeit verfügbar für die Person, die die eigentliche Arbeit macht.

Vollständige listmonk → AcelleMail-Migration — jeder Schritt im Detail

Der oben behandelte 7-Schritte-Leitfaden, mit jedem Schritt für den Operator ausgeklappt. Gesamtdauer: ~½ Tag technisches Setup, danach 1–5 Tage für den Wiederaufbau von Vorlagen & Automatisierungen, je nach Listenkomplexität.

  1. 1. Export from listmonk. listmonk's admin UI exports subscribers per list as CSV (Subscribers → Export). For the full data set, the public API at GET /api/subscribers returns paginated JSON including subscriber attributes, lists, and tags. Campaign HTML can be retrieved per-campaign via GET /api/campaigns/{id}. Click/open analytics can be pulled from the campaign-views and campaign-clicks tables in PostgreSQL directly if needed for migration analysis.
  2. 2. Get AcelleMail. Buy the Regular License — $80 on CodeCanyon. Download the ZIP, upload to your server, run the web installer (5 minutes — sets DB, admin user, cron). PHP 8.1+, MySQL ≥ 5.7 or MariaDB ≥ 10.3, ~512 MB RAM minimum. The installation guide walks through cPanel, DigitalOcean, AWS, and Docker.
  3. 3. Configure your sending service. In Sending Servers → Add, pick Amazon SES (recommended — cheapest), SendGrid, Mailgun, SparkPost, Postmark, Elastic Email, or any SMTP. Paste your API key. AcelleMail handles SPF/DKIM record generation and DKIM signing. Run the test-send to confirm. The 8 built-in drivers live in app/SendingServers/Drivers/Vendors/; additional vendors can be added via the plugin SDK.
  4. 4. Import contacts + attributes. In Lists → Create List, recreate your listmonk lists with their attribute schema (listmonk attributes map to AcelleMail subscriber custom fields one-to-one). Use Import → Upload CSV and map columns. Tags map directly. For lists over 100k, use the chunked import or seed via the REST API.
  5. 5. Recreate templates and campaigns. For templates, paste your listmonk HTML/Markdown into AcelleMail's template editor. Merge syntax differs: listmonk uses {{ .Subscriber.FirstName }} Go template syntax; AcelleMail uses {{ subscriber.first_name }} Twig-style syntax. Subscriber attribute access is equivalent. For automation flows, use Automation → New Workflow — listmonk has no equivalent visual builder, so multi-step flows previously built via cron + API can be expressed as visual journeys.
  6. 6. Configure tracking + DKIM. AcelleMail tracking is enabled by default per campaign (open pixel + link wrapping). DKIM signing is configured at the Sending Server level — paste the DNS records AcelleMail generates into your domain. If you were running listmonk on the same domain, the existing DKIM keys can usually be reused if the sending vendor matches. Otherwise, plan to publish new DKIM records and let DNS propagate before the cutover send.
  7. 7. Test deliverability + cut over. Send a test campaign to GlockApps or Mail-Tester (free). Aim for 9.5/10. Send your next live campaign from AcelleMail in parallel for one cycle, watch open/click rates against your prior baseline, then turn off the listmonk install. Most teams cut over inside a week.
Detailvergleich pro Funktion — wo sich die zwei Produkte unterscheiden + Workarounds

Die obige Side-by-Side-Tabelle zeigt die Funktionsparität; hier finden Sie den Hintergrundkontext zu jeder Zeile mit nicht-trivialer Anmerkung — nützlich, wenn eine Plattform "teilweise" abdeckt und Sie den Workaround brauchen.

Email creation

  • Drag-and-drop email builder: AcelleMail ships a visual block editor with mobile preview. listmonk uses HTML / Markdown templates rendered through Go templating (custom blocks possible via campaign template body).
  • 100+ pre-built templates: AcelleMail bundles a starter template gallery. listmonk ships with default campaign templates and supports user-imported HTML templates.
  • Spintax / dynamic content: AcelleMail includes spintax + per-subscriber merge fields. listmonk supports template logic via Go template syntax — subscriber attributes interpolate but spintax-style randomization is not built in.
  • A/B testing: AcelleMail supports subject-line and content split tests. listmonk's campaign model does not include built-in A/B testing.
  • Multi-language campaigns: AcelleMail tracks per-subscriber language attributes for segmentation. listmonk supports per-subscriber attribute fields that can be used for similar filtering.

Lists & segmentation

  • Advanced segmentation (any-condition): AcelleMail provides a visual segment builder over subscriber fields, behavior, tags, and date logic. listmonk supports SQL-based subscriber queries — flexible but text-driven rather than UI-driven.

Automation

  • Trigger-based workflows: AcelleMail Automation2 supports trigger / wait / condition / send / tag-update / segment-move nodes. listmonk supports campaign scheduling and templated transactional sends; multi-step trigger flows are built via API + external scheduler.
  • Customer journey / multi-step flows: AcelleMail ships a visual multi-step journey builder. listmonk supports regular, opt-in, and scheduled campaign types per its docs; multi-step journeys are typically composed via the public API + cron + external scheduler.
  • RSS-to-email: AcelleMail can pull RSS feeds into scheduled campaigns. listmonk supports the same via campaign body templating + scheduled execution.
  • Birthday / anniversary emails: AcelleMail supports date-field triggers natively. listmonk supports date-field segmentation and scheduled sends; recurring date triggers are typically built with a cron-driven script against the API.
  • Behavioral triggers (clicks/opens): AcelleMail exposes engagement events as automation triggers. listmonk records click/open events that can be queried via API for downstream automation.

Deliverability

  • SPF / DKIM / DMARC tooling: AcelleMail surfaces SPF/DKIM/DMARC record generation in the sending-server config. listmonk relies on the upstream SMTP provider for DKIM signing — listmonk itself sends through SMTP and inherits the provider's authentication setup.
  • Custom sending domain (return path): AcelleMail supports custom return-path on every license. listmonk inherits return-path from the configured SMTP server.
  • Multiple sending services: AcelleMail ships 8 built-in drivers (SES, SendGrid, SparkPost, Mailgun, Elastic Email, Blastengine, Gmail, generic SMTP). listmonk's default backend is SMTP; additional providers are integrated by deploying a community Messenger HTTP endpoint.
  • IP warmup configuration: AcelleMail supports daily/hourly send caps per sending server for gradual warmup. listmonk supports configurable concurrency + rate limits per messenger.
  • Click maps + spam scoring: AcelleMail provides click heatmaps and SpamAssassin-style scoring on each campaign. listmonk records click events in campaign analytics; spam-score scanning is not in core.

Integrations

  • Webhooks: AcelleMail emits outbound event webhooks (subscribe, unsubscribe, click, open, etc.). listmonk's "Messenger" model is a one-direction webhook for outbound campaign delivery; inbound bounce webhooks are supported separately.
  • WordPress / WooCommerce sync: AcelleMail provides an official WordPress / WooCommerce plugin. listmonk does not ship a WordPress integration in core; community examples exist.
  • Zapier / Make / n8n: AcelleMail is pre-listed on Zapier / Make / n8n. listmonk is reachable from these tools via its REST API but is not a first-party app on Zapier.
  • Custom plugin SDK: AcelleMail ships a four-pattern Hook system (REGISTRY, EVENT, FILTER, BEHAVIOR) — see <a href="https://acellemail.com/for/developers">Plugin SDK</a>. listmonk extension is via Messengers (HTTP) + REST API; there is no in-process plugin runtime in core.

SaaS / multi-tenancy

  • Multi-tenant workspaces: AcelleMail Extended ($199) ships a reseller layer with customer accounts, plans, and billing. listmonk is delivered as a single-tenant product; multi-tenant operation requires running multiple instances.
  • Subscription plans + payment gateways: AcelleMail bundles 6 payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, Razorpay, Paystack, Offline) for resellers. listmonk does not include billing or subscription primitives.
  • White-label / remove vendor branding: AcelleMail Extended removes branding for reseller use. listmonk's admin UI is brandable via static asset replacement; the AGPLv3 license imposes source-availability obligations on modified deployments offered as a service to others.
  • Reseller billing / dunning: AcelleMail's Cashier package covers subscriptions, prorated upgrades, and dunning. listmonk does not provide subscription billing primitives.

Operations

  • Single-binary deployment: AcelleMail is a PHP application — runs under PHP-FPM + nginx/Apache. listmonk ships a single Go binary that embeds the web UI and worker.
  • Database — relational: AcelleMail uses MySQL ≥ 5.7 or MariaDB ≥ 10.3. listmonk requires PostgreSQL ≥ 12.

Cost & ownership

  • License cost: AcelleMail Regular is $80 one-time; Extended is $199 (commercial, includes lifetime point/minor updates + 6 months support). listmonk is AGPLv3 — free of license fee with copyleft obligations on modified service deployments.
Kostenvergleich at scale — drei Käufersituationen nebeneinander

Die TCO-Karte oben zeigt die Einstiegszahlen; diese Ansicht stellt alle drei Käufersituationen übereinander, sodass Sie die nächstliegende Übereinstimmung mit Ihrem Kontaktvolumen und Ihrer Sendefrequenz auswählen können.

SaaS team — product newsletter

  • Situation: 8,000 trial signups + 2,000 paid customers, weekly product newsletter, 4-step onboarding drip, billing notifications.
  • listmonk-Kosten: listmonk + $10/mo VPS + $2/mo SES. Onboarding drip is built as a 4-step API-driven sequence with cron-triggered scheduled campaigns; 4-step state-machine logic lives outside listmonk.
  • AcelleMail-Kosten: $80 once + $10/mo DigitalOcean droplet + ~$2/mo SES. The 4-step drip is a single visual workflow in Automation2 — trigger on signup → wait → check engagement → send next email.

Marketing agency — 50 client lists

  • Situation: Email service for 50 small-business clients, average 2,000 subscribers each, monthly newsletter + occasional promo.
  • listmonk-Kosten: listmonk: 50 instances (~$5/mo each VPS) ≈ $250/mo + ops time per tenant, OR a custom routing layer over a single instance. SaaS billing primitives are not included.
  • AcelleMail-Kosten: $199 Extended License once + $40/mo VPS + ~$30/mo SES total across all clients on one install. Built-in SaaS layer: per-client login, plans, dunning, 6 payment gateways.

Indie newsletter — 5,000 subscribers

  • Situation: Weekly newsletter, no automation flows, transactional sends for password resets only.
  • listmonk-Kosten: listmonk + $5/mo VPS + ~$0.30/mo SES + Postgres operating cost. Free of license fee.
  • AcelleMail-Kosten: $80 license + $5/mo VPS + ~$0.30/mo SES. License recovers ~24 months of avoided SaaS subscription if previously paying for hosted email.

Nutzen Sie den Kostenersparnisrechner für eine individuelle Zahl auf Basis Ihrer exakten Abonnentenzahl und Sendefrequenz.

Ehrliche Gegenpositionierung — typische Einwände gegen den Wechsel

Vier Einwände, die jeder Operator vor einer Migration weg von listmonk oder einem beliebigen SaaS abwägt. Ohne Schönfärberei beantwortet — das sind reale Tradeoffs, und die richtige Wahl hängt von Ihrem Team ab.

1. "Der Wechsel kostet mehr, als er spart."

Ehrliche Einschätzung: Bei Listen unter ~500 Kontakten kann die kostenlose oder Einstiegsstufe von listmonk günstiger sein als der Betrieb eines VPS für 5–10 $/Monat plus der AcelleMail-Lizenz — noch bevor man die Operator-Zeit einrechnet. Der Break-even liegt typischerweise zwischen 1.000 und 5.000 Kontakten. Rechnen Sie Ihre eigenen Zahlen mit dem Kostenrechner durch, bevor Sie entscheiden.

2. "Self-Hosting wird die Zustellbarkeit ruinieren."

Stimmt, wenn Sie einen selbstverwalteten MTA ohne Warm-up betreiben. Stimmt NICHT, wenn AcelleMail über einen verwalteten Sendedienst weiterleitet (Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark) — diese Anbieter pflegen die IP-Reputation; AcelleMail orchestriert lediglich Kampagnen und Tracking. Mit diesem Setup ist Inbox-Placement-Parität zu listmonk die Regel, nicht die Ausnahme.

3. "Mein Team hat keine Zeit, noch ein Tool zu lernen."

Berechtigtes Anliegen. Die AcelleMail-Oberfläche spiegelt etablierte Muster wider (Kampagnen-Builder, Audience-Listen, Automation-Flows), sodass die meisten listmonk-Nutzer ab Tag eins produktiv sind. Die eigentliche Zeitsenke ist der Wiederaufbau mehrstufiger Automatisierungen und Vorlagenbibliotheken — planen Sie je nach Komplexität 1–5 Tage ein, keine Wochen.

4. "Was, wenn AcelleMail nicht mehr weiterentwickelt wird?"

Self-Hosting dreht das Risiko um: Sie besitzen eine unbefristete Kopie des Quellcodes. Keine Preisänderung, Abkündigung oder Übernahme durch einen Anbieter kann Ihnen die Plattform entziehen. Sollten Updates ausbleiben, läuft Ihre bestehende Installation weiter. Im Vergleich dazu sind bei SaaS Entscheidungen zu Preisen, Funktionen oder Abschaltungen unilateral vom Anbieter getroffen.

Häufig gefragt

Typische Fragen

Kann ich von listmonk zu AcelleMail migrieren, ohne Abonnentendaten zu verlieren?
Ja. Die Admin-Oberfläche von listmonk exportiert Abonnenten je Liste als CSV; die öffentliche API unter GET /api/subscribers liefert paginiertes JSON für den vollständigen programmatischen Export. Der Import von AcelleMail akzeptiert CSV mit Custom-Field-Mapping und unterstützt XLSX oder einen direkten DB-Seed für sehr große Listen. Tags und Abonnenten-Attribute lassen sich 1:1 auf AcelleMail-Subscriber-Custom-Fields abbilden. Rechnen Sie mit einem halben Tag für Listen unter 5.000 Kontakten und mit 2–3 Tagen, wenn umfangreiche Automatisierungen neu aufgebaut werden müssen.
Wie schneidet die Automatisierung von AcelleMail gegenüber den Kampagnentypen von listmonk ab?
AcelleMail liefert einen visuellen Workflow-Builder (Automation2) mit Knoten für Trigger / Wait / Condition / Send / Tag-Update / Segment-Move — mehrstufige Journeys werden in der UI ohne Code konfiguriert. Das Kampagnenmodell von listmonk umfasst Regular-, Opt-in- und Scheduled-Kampagnen; mehrstufige Journeys werden üblicherweise über die öffentliche API + Cron + externen Scheduler komponiert. Beide Ansätze funktionieren; die Wahl hängt davon ab, ob die Journey in der UI (AcelleMail) oder in eigenem Code (listmonk) ausgedrückt werden soll.
Warum kostet AcelleMail 80 USD, obwohl listmonk unter AGPLv3 kostenlos ist?
Die AcelleMail Regular License (80 USD, Einmalzahlung) ist eine kommerzielle Lizenz, die lebenslange Point- + Minor-Updates, 6 Monate Support und das Recht enthält, Modifikationen privat ohne Copyleft-Auflagen einzusetzen. listmonk unter AGPLv3 ist lizenzkostenfrei, das Copyleft greift jedoch für abgeleitete Deployments, die als Dienst angeboten werden. Die 80 USD decken ein anderes Paket: visueller Automatisierungs-Builder, Plugin-SDK, 8 Versandtreiber-Integrationen, mehrsprachige UI und den Extended-Pfad zu einer mandantenfähigen SaaS-Ebene (199 USD).
Unterstützt listmonk Amazon SES, SendGrid und Mailgun von Haus aus?
listmonk bringt ein Standard-SMTP-Backend mit, das sich an jeden SMTP-fähigen Dienst anbinden lässt — inklusive SES, SendGrid und Mailgun. Über SMTP hinaus erlaubt die "Messenger"-Architektur von listmonk, Kampagnen als POST an einen JSON-HTTP-Endpunkt zu schicken; community-gepflegte Messenger gibt es für AWS Pinpoint SMS, Verimor, Mailersend, Novu und Google FCM. AcelleMail liefert 8 native Treiber (SES, SendGrid, SparkPost, Mailgun, Elastic Email, Blastengine, Gmail, Generic SMTP) mit API-Integration und Bounce-Webhook-Handlern — siehe app/SendingServers/Drivers/Vendors/ im AcelleMail-Quellcode.
Kann ich mehrere Kundenkonten unter einer AcelleMail-Installation betreiben?
Ja — genau dafür gibt es die AcelleMail Extended License (199 USD). Sie enthält eine mandantenfähige Ebene: Kundenkonten, Abonnementpläne, 6 Zahlungs-Gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, Razorpay, Paystack, Offline), anteilige Upgrades, Dunning und White-Label-Branding. listmonk wird als Single-Tenant-Projekt ausgeliefert; der Mandantenbetrieb erfordert in der Regel mehrere listmonk-Instanzen. Die Architektur ist auf der Seite For Developers beschrieben.
Welchen Stack benötigt AcelleMail im Vergleich zu listmonk?
AcelleMail: PHP 8.1+, MySQL ≥ 5.7 oder MariaDB ≥ 10.3, mindestens ~512 MB RAM, empfohlen 1 GB für Listen bis ~50K. Läuft unter PHP-FPM hinter nginx oder Apache. listmonk: ein einzelnes Go-Binary, PostgreSQL ≥ 12. Das Frontend ist in das Binary eingebettet. Der Speicherbedarf ist gering (Go-Binary ~50–100 MB resident im Leerlauf). Beide Tools setzen einen System-Cron / Scheduler voraus — AcelleMail nutzt einen OS-Cron-Eintrag, listmonk betreibt einen eigenen internen Scheduler.
Hat AcelleMail ein listmonk-Äquivalent zum Plugin-SDK?
AcelleMail bringt ein Hook-System mit vier Patterns (REGISTRY, EVENT, FILTER, BEHAVIOR) — Plugins liegen unter storage/app/plugins/ und können Versandtreiber, Zahlungs-Gateways, UI-Panels und Lifecycle-Hooks registrieren. Die Plugin-SDK-Dokumentation erläutert die vier Patterns und enthält ausgearbeitete Beispiele (Postal MTA, Paddle-Gateway, AI-Plugin). Das Erweiterungsmodell von listmonk besteht aus Messengers (HTTP-Webhooks für ausgehende Auslieferung) plus öffentlicher REST API; eine prozessinterne Plugin-Laufzeit gibt es im Core nicht. Integrationscode lebt typischerweise außerhalb des listmonk-Binarys.
Wie steht es um Zustellbarkeit — enthält AcelleMail SPF/DKIM-Tooling, das listmonk nicht hat?
Beide Tools verlassen sich auf den zugrundeliegenden Versanddienst (SES, SendGrid usw.) für IP-Reputation und DKIM-Signatur. AcelleMail zeigt SPF-/DKIM-/DMARC-Werte direkt in der UI des Versandserver-Setups an und signiert DKIM auf Anwendungsebene, sofern konfiguriert. listmonk stützt sich auf das DKIM-Setup des SMTP-Anbieters; die Bounce-Verarbeitung unterstützt laut Doku SES-, SendGrid- und Postmark-Webhooks. Den vollständigen Überblick zum SPF-/DKIM-/DMARC-Tooling von AcelleMail gibt es auf Security & GDPR.
Welches Tool ist die richtige Wahl für einen Single-Instance-Newsletter ohne Automatisierungsbedarf?
Beide funktionieren. Das Single-Binary-Deployment von listmonk ist operativ einfacher, wenn Sie mit Go-Binaries und PostgreSQL vertraut sind. Die 80 USD Lizenz von AcelleMail bündelt einen visuellen Builder, Automatisierungs-Flows, 8 native Versandtreiber und eine UI in 18 Sprachen — nützlich, wenn Sie absehbar in Automatisierung oder Mandantenfähigkeit hineinwachsen. Teams mit reinem Broadcast-Bedarf und kleinstmöglichem Operativ-Footprint fahren mit listmonk gut; Teams, die direkt gebündelte Automatisierung und Mandanten-Primitives haben möchten, mit AcelleMail.
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Try AcelleMail before you migrate.

AcelleMail Regular License is $80, one-time. Includes lifetime updates, 6 months of support, full PHP source code, and unlimited subscribers. Try the live demo before you buy.

listmonk ist eine Marke des jeweiligen Inhabers. Diese Seite ist ein objektiver Produktvergleich, verfasst von AcelleMail; wir sind weder mit listmonk verbunden noch von listmonk unterstützt oder gesponsert. Alle zitierten Fakten stammen aus den oben verlinkten öffentlich zugänglichen Dokumentationen; melden Sie etwaige Ungenauigkeiten bitte an contact@acellemail.com, und wir korrigieren sie.