phpList vs Mailman

phpList8.9Visit MMailman8.6Visit

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

vs

M Mailman #4 in Mailing List Management Software 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Mailman

• phpList fits best

  Email teams that need segmentation and campaign analytics

• Mailman fits best

  Teams needing established, self-hosted list administration

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Side by side

Feature	phpList 8.9/10 Visit ↗	MMailman 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.6
Ranking	#1 in Mailing List Management Software	#4 in Mailing List Management Software
Best for	Email teams that need segmentation and campaign analytics	Teams needing established, self-hosted list administration
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web, Linux, macOS
Support	Email, Community, Docs, Tickets	Community, Docs
Integrations	3 integrations	4 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features phpList 0/5 · Mailman 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	Manages subscribers and mailing lists with a web-based administration interface Includes web-based message archives, digest scheduling and email subscription commands Offers an administrative REST API and integrates with four mail-transfer agents
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	Self-hosted deployment requires teams to manage the software environment Focused on list administration rather than broader campaign features Support is through community resources and documentation
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 →	Mailman is an open-source mailing list management system for organizations, communities and technical administrators. Its core purpose is administering lists and memberships, with web-based tools for administrators and archives for… 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

• Mailman — where it wins

  • Manages subscribers and mailing lists with a web-based administration interface
  • Includes web-based message archives, digest scheduling and email subscription commands
  • Offers an administrative REST API and integrates with four mail-transfer agents

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires teams to manage the software environment
  • Focused on list administration rather than broader campaign features
  • Support is through community resources and documentation

• phpList8.9/10 · Free plan

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

  Visit phpListFull verdict →
• MMailman8.6/10 · Free plan

  A free, self-hosted list manager with web administration, archives and an API.

  Visit MailmanFull verdict →