Mailtrain VS Postalion

• Open Source
  Mailtrain is open source, meaning the source code is freely available. Users can modify and customize the software according to their needs without any licensing fees.
• Cost-Effective
  As an open-source solution, Mailtrain can be a cost-effective choice, especially for small businesses and startups, since it does not require subscription fees typically associated with commercial email marketing services.
• Self-Hosting
  Mailtrain can be self-hosted, giving users full control over their email marketing infrastructure and data, and reducing reliance on third-party services.
• Feature-Rich
  Mailtrain offers numerous features such as list management, segmentation, custom fields, automation, and analytics, providing a comprehensive solution for email marketing campaigns.
• Integration Options
  Mailtrain integrates with various services like Amazon SES and others, allowing users to leverage powerful email sending capabilities and improve email deliverability.

Possible disadvantages

• Technical Setup
  Setting up and maintaining Mailtrain can require a significant level of technical expertise, including familiarity with Linux servers, databases, and mail servers, which might be a barrier for non-technical users.
• Maintenance Overhead
  Users are responsible for maintaining the Mailtrain installation, including updates, security patches, and backups, which can add to the operational burden.
• Limited Support
  Being an open-source project, Mailtrain may have limited formal support compared to commercial email marketing services. Users might need to rely on community support or external consultants for help.
• User Interface
  While functional, Mailtrain's user interface might not be as polished or user-friendly as those offered by some commercial email marketing platforms, potentially leading to a steeper learning curve for new users.
• Scalability Concerns
  Self-hosting Mailtrain might present scalability challenges as the user base or email sending volume increases, requiring more robust infrastructure and more complex management.

• Unlimited subscribers
  No limit on subscribers or emails in the free plugin
• Self-hosted
  Your list stays in your own WordPress database
• Sign-up forms
  Block, shortcode, popup, slide-in and a form under posts
• Double opt-in
  Confirmation email and one-click unsubscribe
• Lists and tags
  Lists, tags and custom fields for each subscriber
• Email templates
  12 templates and a composer made for email
• Automatic emails
  Welcome email, new-post emails and a weekly digest
• Statistics
  Opens and clicks, counted on your own server
• Imports
  From Mailchimp, MailPoet and the Newsletter plugin
• Integrations
  WooCommerce, LMS, membership, donation and form plugins
• SMTP
  Brevo, Amazon SES, Mailgun, Postmark, SendGrid or any SMTP

No analysis of Postalion yet.

Review on the Austrains mailtrain pack

Postalion: the free newsletter plugin for WordPress, in one minute

• Building a serverless email delivery service on AWS

  Listmonk is fantastic -- I use it for the newsletter of my own blog and am amazed by how simple it was to set up and how easy it is to operate and use every time I send out a newsletter. Prior to Listmonk I used Mailtrain[0] and like... - Source: Hacker News / about 5 years ago

• Self-hosted wysiwyg email editor like mailchimp or beefree.io?

  Never tried but have a look at Mosaico and GrapesJS. Both are open-sourced and used by Mailtrain. Source: over 5 years ago

Tracking Postalion since Oct 2026.