phpList vs Google Groups Collaborative Inbox

phpList8.9Visit GGGoogle Groups Collaborative Inbox7.9Visit

Higher score phpList #1 in Mailing List Management Software 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit phpList

vs

GG Google Groups Collaborative Inbox #6 in Mailing List Management Software 7.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Google Groups

• phpList fits best

  Email teams that need segmentation and campaign analytics

• Google Groups Collaborative Inbox fits best

  Teams triaging group email as a shared inbox

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Side by side

Feature	phpList 8.9/10 Visit ↗	GGGoogle Groups Collaborative Inbox 7.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	7.9
Ranking	#1 in Mailing List Management Software	#6 in Mailing List Management Software
Best for	Email teams that need segmentation and campaign analytics	Teams triaging group email as a shared inbox
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Email, Community, Docs, Tickets	Docs, Community
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features phpList 0/5 · Google Groups Collaborative Inbox 0/5
Moderation controls	Not published	Not published
Subscriber preferences	Not published	Not published
Self-hosted option	Not published	Not published
Message archives	Not published	Not published
Signup forms	Not published	Not published
Specs
List modes	Not published	Not published
Our review
Pros	Segments audiences and supports behavioral targeting and A/B testing Tracks opens, clicks, forwards, and bounces Offers both hosted service and self-hosted open-source software	Assign or volunteer for conversations and track their resolution status Shared labels and searches by assignee or resolution status aid triage Group permissions control who can take inbox actions
Cons	Forever Free is limited to 300 messages per month The $1 Plan caps subscribers at 3,000 Hosted pricing spans multiple models and subscriber tiers	Focused on shared-inbox triage, not subscriber or campaign management Collaborative Inbox requires conversation history on the Google Group Work or school accounts need Groups for Business to enable these features
Our verdict	phpList is open-source email marketing software for organizations sending newsletters, announcements, notifications, and campaigns to subscriber lists. It suits teams that want list management, segmentation, and campaign statistics, with a… Read the review →	Google Groups Collaborative Inbox helps teams manage messages sent to a group address. Members with the right permissions can take conversations, assign them to colleagues, or mark them complete, duplicate, or needing no action. It suits… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• phpList — where it wins

  • Segments audiences and supports behavioral targeting and A/B testing
  • Tracks opens, clicks, forwards, and bounces
  • Offers both hosted service and self-hosted open-source software

  Where it doesn't

  • Forever Free is limited to 300 messages per month
  • The $1 Plan caps subscribers at 3,000
  • Hosted pricing spans multiple models and subscriber tiers

• Google Groups Collaborative Inbox — where it wins

  • Assign or volunteer for conversations and track their resolution status
  • Shared labels and searches by assignee or resolution status aid triage
  • Group permissions control who can take inbox actions

  Where it doesn't

  • Focused on shared-inbox triage, not subscriber or campaign management
  • Collaborative Inbox requires conversation history on the Google Group
  • Work or school accounts need Groups for Business to enable these features

• phpList8.9/10 · Free plan

  A flexible campaign tool with segmentation, A/B tests, and both hosted and self-hosted options.

  Visit phpListFull verdict →
• GGGoogle Groups Collaborative Inbox7.9/10 · Free plan

  A free shared inbox for group email, not a mailing-list campaign tool.

  Visit Google GroupsFull verdict →