ListmonkvsBrevo

Listmonk vs Brevo

Free self-hosted vs all-in-one marketing platform

TL;DR

Listmonk is free, self-hosted, and focused on newsletters. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is an all-in-one marketing platform with email, SMS, CRM, and more. Listmonk costs nothing but requires technical setup. Brevo has a generous free tier and handles everything for you.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

Platform Scope
Brevo wins

Brevo is an all-in-one marketing platform with email, SMS, WhatsApp, chat, CRM, and sales tools. Listmonk sends newsletters. Massive scope difference. If you need multi-channel marketing, Brevo delivers. If you just need email, Listmonk is simpler.

Cost Model
Listmonk wins

Listmonk is completely free (plus hosting/SMTP). Brevo charges per email sent, not per contact. At high volumes, Brevo can get expensive. Listmonk stays free regardless of volume.

Technical Requirement
Brevo wins

Listmonk requires Docker and server management. Brevo requires only an email signup. For non-technical users, Brevo is dramatically more accessible.

Free Tier

Brevo offers 300 emails/day free forever. Listmonk is unlimited but requires self-hosting. For light users wanting no hosting hassle, Brevo's free tier is attractive.

Automation
Brevo wins

Brevo has visual workflow automation, multi-channel sequences, and transactional triggers. Listmonk has no automation whatsoever. For automated workflows, Brevo is the only choice.

Pricing Comparison

At 10,000 subscribers

Listmonk
$0/month

Free forever. Only pay for hosting (~$10/mo) and SMTP.

Visit Listmonk
Brevo
$25/month

Starter plan. 20k emails/month. More emails require higher tiers.

Visit Brevo
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$49/month

10k contacts, unlimited sends, native Stripe integration.

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Listmonk
Brevo
Sequenzy
Cost & Hosting
Software Cost
Free
Free tier, then $25+/mo
$49/month at 10k
Free Tier
Always free
300 emails/day
Trial only
Hosting
Self-hosted
Fully managed
Fully managed
Pricing Model
N/A (free)
Per email, not contacts
Per contact
Marketing Channels
Email
SMS
WhatsApp
Chat
Transactional
Email Features
Email Builder
HTML templates
Drag-and-drop
Good builder
Automation
Visual workflows
Event-based
Segmentation
Basic lists
Advanced
Event-based
A/B Testing
CRM & Sales
Built-in CRM
Subscriber profiles
Sales Pipeline
Meeting Scheduling
Deal Tracking

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Listmonk if you...
  • Technical users wanting free solution
  • High-volume senders avoiding per-email costs
  • Simple newsletter use cases
  • Privacy-conscious organizations
Choose Brevo if you...
  • Businesses needing multi-channel marketing
  • Teams wanting CRM + email together
  • Non-technical users
  • Companies needing SMS and chat
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS companies with Stripe billing
  • Teams needing subscription automation
  • Companies wanting managed + SaaS features
  • Founders needing payment-triggered emails

When to Consider Sequenzy Instead

SaaS-Focused Platform

Neither Listmonk nor Brevo is built for SaaS. Sequenzy offers native Stripe integration, subscription lifecycle tracking, and payment-triggered automation specifically for SaaS.

Predictable Pricing

Brevo charges per email, which can spike unpredictably. Sequenzy charges per contact with unlimited sends. No surprises when you need to send more emails.

Right-Sized Features

Brevo has CRM and SMS you may not need. Listmonk lacks automation you might need. Sequenzy offers focused email features for SaaS without unnecessary extras.

Try Sequenzy Free

Overview

Listmonk and Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) sit at opposite ends of the email marketing spectrum. Listmonk is a lean, free, self-hosted newsletter tool. Brevo is an all-in-one marketing platform with email, SMS, CRM, and chat. One does one thing well. The other does many things adequately.

Platform Scope

Brevo offers: email marketing, transactional email, SMS campaigns, WhatsApp messaging, live chat, CRM, sales pipeline, meeting scheduling, and more.

Listmonk offers: campaigns and list management.

This isn't a criticism of Listmonk. It's intentionally focused. But if you need multi-channel marketing, Brevo has it and Listmonk doesn't.

Cost Reality

Listmonk: Free software + ~$10/month hosting + SMTP costs. Under $20/month regardless of volume.

Brevo: Free tier (300 emails/day). Starter at $25/month for 20k emails. Costs grow with volume.

At low volumes, Brevo's free tier works. At high volumes, Listmonk's fixed costs beat Brevo's per-email pricing significantly.

Ease of Use

Brevo: Sign up, verify email, start sending. Drag-and-drop editor. Visual automation. No technical skills required.

Listmonk: Install Docker, configure PostgreSQL, set up SMTP, manage server. HTML templates. Technical skills required.

For most users, Brevo is dramatically easier to get started with.

Automation Gap

Brevo has visual workflow automation with multi-channel support. Email sequences, SMS triggers, behavioral automation.

Listmonk has no automation. Zero. Send campaigns, manage lists. That's it.

If automation matters to your email strategy, Listmonk isn't an option.

CRM Integration

Brevo includes a basic CRM. Contact management, sales pipeline, deal tracking. All integrated with email.

Listmonk is purely email. No CRM functionality. You'd need a separate CRM.

For small businesses wanting email + CRM in one place, Brevo offers convenience.

For SaaS Companies

Neither is ideal for SaaS. Listmonk lacks automation. Brevo lacks SaaS-specific features like Stripe integration. For subscription businesses needing payment-triggered automation, consider Sequenzy.

Making the Choice

Choose Listmonk if you can self-host, want free software, and only need basic newsletters. Choose Brevo if you want multi-channel marketing, CRM, and ease of use. For SaaS companies needing subscription lifecycle automation, consider Sequenzy.

Frequently Asked Questions

300 emails/day is 9,000/month. Fine for small lists with infrequent sends. Growing businesses quickly need paid plans. Listmonk has no such limit.

Brevo charges per email sent, not per contact. Starter is $25/month for 20k emails. Business is $65/month for 20k emails with more features. High-volume senders pay more.

No. Listmonk is email-only. For SMS, WhatsApp, or chat, you need Brevo or another multi-channel platform.

Both support transactional email. Brevo has dedicated transactional infrastructure. Listmonk handles transactional via API. Both work, Brevo is easier.

Yes, Brevo's CRM is included and works standalone. It's a basic CRM but sufficient for small businesses. Listmonk has no CRM functionality.

Yes, when properly set up. Organizations send millions of emails through Listmonk. Reliability depends on your server and SMTP provider, not the software.

Listmonk scales cost-effectively. High volumes stay nearly free. Brevo costs grow with email volume. For cost-sensitive high-volume senders, Listmonk wins.

Reasonably. 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts. Good for testing or very small businesses. Listmonk is more generous since it's completely free.

Export contacts from Brevo. Set up Listmonk with Docker. Import subscribers. Configure SMTP. Recreate templates in HTML. Note that automations, SMS workflows, and CRM data won't transfer.

Export subscribers from Listmonk. Import into Brevo. Recreate templates using Brevo's builder. Set up automations you couldn't do in Listmonk. Consider using Brevo's CRM and SMS features.

Not sure which to pick?

If you're a SaaS founder who needs Stripe integration and unified email, try Sequenzy free. No credit card required.

Start Free TrialSee All Features

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Sequenzy - Complete Pricing Guide

Pricing Model

Sequenzy uses subscriber-based pricing. You only pay for subscribers active in sequences (automations). Inactive subscribers are free to store.

All Pricing Tiers

  • 0-100 subscribers: Free (Free annually) - 2k emails/month
  • 101-1,000 subscribers: $19/month ($205/year annually) - 15k emails/month
  • 1,001-5,000 subscribers: $29/month ($313/year annually) - 60k emails/month
  • 5,001-10,000 subscribers: $49/month ($529/year annually) - 120k emails/month
  • 10,001-25,000 subscribers: $99/month ($1069/year annually) - 300k emails/month
  • 25,001-50,000 subscribers: $199/month ($2149/year annually) - 600k emails/month
  • 50,001-100,000 subscribers: $349/month ($3769/year annually) - 1.2M emails/month
  • 100,000+ subscribers: Custom pricing (Custom annually) - Unlimited emails/month

Yearly billing: All plans offer a 10% discount when billed annually.

Free Plan Features (0-100 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Paid Plan Features (1,000 - 100,000 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations (Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy)
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Enterprise Plan Features (100,000+ subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Important Pricing Notes

  • You only pay for subscribers who are active in automations/sequences
  • Storing inactive subscribers is free
  • No hidden fees - all features included in the price
  • No credit card required for free tier

Contact

  • Pricing Page: https://sequenzy.com/pricing
  • Sales: hello@sequenzy.com