Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Listmonk VS Buttondown

Compare Listmonk VS Buttondown and see what are their differences

Listmonk logo Listmonk

Send e-mail campaigns from a powerful dashboard. High performance and features packed into one app.

Buttondown logo Buttondown

Buttondown is the best way to start and run your newsletter
  • Listmonk Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-08-30
  • Buttondown Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-31

Listmonk features and specs

  • Open Source
    Listmonk is free to use, modify, and distribute. This can offer significant cost savings compared to proprietary email marketing solutions.
  • Self-Hosted
    Allows you to have full control over the software and your data, providing enhanced security and customization possibilities.
  • Scalability
    Designed to handle millions of subscribers and messages effectively, making it suitable for both small and large-scale email marketing campaigns.
  • Multilingual Support
    Supports multiple languages, making it accessible for users from different linguistic backgrounds.
  • API Access
    Provides a comprehensive API, allowing for excellent integration with other software and platforms.
  • Flexible Database
    Supports both PostgreSQL and SQLite, catering to different user needs and technical requirements.

Possible disadvantages of Listmonk

  • Technical Expertise Required
    Being a self-hosted solution, it requires a certain level of technical knowledge for setup, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
  • Hosting Costs
    Although the software itself is free, you will need to incur costs for hosting and maintaining the server where Listmonk is installed.
  • Limited Built-In Templates
    May not come with a wide variety of pre-designed email templates, requiring users to create their own or import from other sources.
  • Community Support
    Unlike commercial solutions, support is primarily community-driven, which may lead to slower issue resolution compared to dedicated support teams.
  • Learning Curve
    The initial setup and configuration can be complex and may require a time investment to understand all its features and functionalities.

Buttondown features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Buttondown offers a clean, intuitive, and easy-to-navigate interface, making it accessible for users with varying levels of technical expertise.
  • Lightweight and Efficient
    The platform is designed to be lightweight and efficient, ensuring that users can get their email newsletters out with minimal hassle and overhead.
  • Markdown Support
    Buttondown supports Markdown, allowing users to write and format their newsletters easily with plain text, which is great for those who prefer this simple and efficient markup language.
  • Analytics
    Provides detailed analytics and reporting, giving insights into email open rates, link clicks, and subscriber growth statistics, helping users optimize their newsletters.
  • Privacy-Focused
    Buttondown emphasizes user privacy and ensures that subscriber data is treated with the utmost care, complying with GDPR regulations and avoiding intrusive tracking.
  • Integration with Other Tools
    Offers integration with various other tools and services such as Zapier, enabling users to automate workflows and sync their newsletters with other platforms.
  • Affordable Pricing
    Provides a competitive pricing structure with a free tier for small lists and affordable rates for larger lists, making it accessible to individual creators and small businesses.

Possible disadvantages of Buttondown

  • Limited Customization
    While Buttondown is straightforward to use, it lacks some advanced customization options for email templates and designs, which might be a drawback for users seeking highly tailored email layouts.
  • Features Limited Compared to Competitors
    Buttondown offers a more streamlined set of features compared to some larger email marketing platforms, which may be insufficient for users needing more complex marketing automation capabilities.
  • Smaller Support Community
    As a smaller and more niche platform, Buttondown has a smaller support community, which can limit the availability of user-generated tutorials, forums, and peer support.
  • No Built-In CRM
    Buttondown lacks an integrated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, which means users looking for advanced customer management and segmentation might need to integrate with an external CRM.
  • Basic Landing Page Options
    The platform offers only basic landing page configurations, which can be limiting for users who want to create highly interactive or visually complex landing pages to attract subscribers.

Analysis of Listmonk

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Listmonk is a good option for those who prefer a self-hosted, open-source mailing list manager. It provides powerful features without recurring subscription costs and allows for full control over your data.

Why this product is good

  • Listmonk is a self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager that is appreciated for its open-source nature, flexibility, and robust features. It offers advanced segmentation, analytics, and a user-friendly interface, making it suitable for businesses looking for a customizable and privacy-focused solution.

Recommended for

  • Businesses or individuals looking for a cost-effective solution without recurring fees
  • Those who require a high degree of customization and flexibility
  • Organizations that prioritize data privacy and security
  • Developers or tech-savvy users comfortable with self-hosting applications

Analysis of Buttondown

Overall verdict

  • Buttondown is a good choice for those who prefer a simple, intuitive newsletter service without the complexity of more feature-heavy alternatives. Its emphasis on privacy and ease of use makes it appealing for creators and small to medium-sized businesses looking to build and engage their audience with minimal fuss.

Why this product is good

  • Buttondown is a minimalist email newsletter platform designed for ease of use and simplicity. It is known for its straightforward interface, powerful automation features, and the ability to manage subscribers effectively. It offers customization options, analytics, and integrations with popular tools, making it suitable for both beginners and more advanced users who want a clutter-free experience. Additionally, its focus on privacy and user-centric design often appeals to users who value data protection and a clean, distraction-free environment.

Recommended for

  • Independent creators
  • Small businesses
  • Bloggers
  • Users valuing privacy and simplicity
  • Those preferring a minimalistic approach

Listmonk videos

Listmonk

Buttondown videos

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Listmonk and Buttondown)
Email Marketing
83 83%
17% 17
Email Newsletters
0 0%
100% 100
Newsletter Marketing
88 88%
12% 12
Email Marketing Platforms

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Listmonk and Buttondown

Listmonk Reviews

We have no reviews of Listmonk yet.
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Buttondown Reviews

Oh God, It's Raining Newsletters - by Craig Mod
Buttondown is a (somewhat) recently launched NAAS built by a very engaged developer, beautifully designed, that looks like it might be the new TinyLetter. Subscription integrations forthcoming (eating into Substack territory?). This is probably where I’d start if I were starting a public newsletter today.
Source: craigmod.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Buttondown might be a bit more popular than Listmonk. We know about 28 links to it since March 2021 and only 27 links to Listmonk. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Listmonk mentions (27)

  • Ask HN: Self hosted Waitlist with Landing page?
    "Preferably using shadcn/react/supabase. I don't want to reinvent the wheel here." Respectfully, you don't need supabase for a landing page with waitlist especially when you don't want to reinvest the wheel. You have several options: 1. Find a WordPress theme that has the form built in. The fastest out of the box setup you will find. 2. If you don't want WordPRess or deal with PHP etc, then there are plenty of... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Ask HN: Cheap way to run a small newsletter?
    You can use https://listmonk.app or https://sendy.co and use a provider lke SES under the hood. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Show HN: I made an open source Mailchimp RSS-to-Email alternative
    Listmonk is a seriously awesome piece of software! Have used it to run multiple newsletters, over various version upgrades (almost all stress free), and even written some custom integrations with the API. https://listmonk.app. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Bots Invaded My Newsletter. Here's How I Fought Back with ML ⚔️ 🤖
    I have mainly name and email fields in the newsletter signup and there is no verification. Then I manually blacklisted all the bots in the email service Listmonk. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • My Open-Source toolkit for 2024
    Listmonk – An open-source alternative to Mailchimp just released version 3. It’s great as a stand-alone newsletter. Also seems like a low lift for capturing leads for side projects. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
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Buttondown mentions (28)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Listmonk and Buttondown, you can also consider the following products

MailChimp - MailChimp is the best way to design, send, and share email newsletters.

Sendy - Sendy is a self hosted newsletter app that sends emails 100x cheaper via Amazon SES

TinyLetter - Start writing your own newsletter instantly.

Brevo - Innovative online Email Marketing solution to manage your contacts, create & send your newsletters and track your results. More than 80 000 clients. Best prices and attractive features.

Mailman - Mailman is free software for managing electronic mail discussion and e-newsletter lists.

MailerLite - Affordable Email Marketing Software. Get all features (Segmentation, Automation, A/B testing) for up to 1,000 subscribers & send unlimited emails for free!