Keila vs Listmonk
Self-host pick — both replace ConvertKit (Kit) (Creator email marketing).
Both Keila and Listmonk self-host as a replacement for ConvertKit (Kit) (Creator email marketing). Pick Keila if you want independent creators who want a clean, single-tenant newsletter tool without Mautic's complexity; pick Listmonk if you want creators with large lists who want low-per-email cost — Listmonk + SES is roughly 10x cheaper than ConvertKit at 50k+ subscribers. Both are AGPL-family licensed and similar to set up.
| Keilaopen-source | Listmonkopen-source | |
|---|---|---|
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Setup time | 20min docker-compose (Elixir + Postgres) | 15min docker-compose (Go binary + Postgres) |
| Monthly cost | $5 VPS — Elixir is light. | $5 VPS for the app; SMTP relay (Amazon SES, Postmark, Resend) is the variable cost — SES at ~$0.10/1000 sends. |
| GitHub | pentacent/keila | knadh/listmonk |
| Replaces | ConvertKit (Kit) + 1 other | ConvertKit (Kit) + 3 other |
Good fit for
Keila
Independent creators who want a clean, single-tenant newsletter tool without Mautic's complexity.
Weak at:Smaller community; fewer integrations than Mautic; no marketing-automation graph.
Listmonk
Creators with large lists who want low-per-email cost — Listmonk + SES is roughly 10x cheaper than ConvertKit at 50k+ subscribers.
Weak at:No native paid-newsletter rails or rich landing-page builder — Listmonk is the send engine, not the funnel UI.
Both also replace
- Mailchimp— Email marketing / newsletters
In a terminal? npx -y github:SolvoHQ/os-alt-cli convertkit prints ConvertKit (Kit)'s self-host options including both —
how the CLI works →
FAQ
Which is easier to self-host, Keila or Listmonk?
Keila: 20min docker-compose (Elixir + Postgres). Listmonk: 15min docker-compose (Go binary + Postgres).
What does each cost to run?
Keila: $5 VPS — Elixir is light.. Listmonk: $5 VPS for the app; SMTP relay (Amazon SES, Postmark, Resend) is the variable cost — SES at ~$0.10/1000 sends.. Both projects are free and open source.
Do Keila and Listmonk replace the same SaaS?
Yes — both are open-source alternatives to ConvertKit (Kit) (and 1 other SaaS).