Mailtrain vs Mautic
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Mailtrain | Mautic |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 40 · Fair | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,753 | ★ 10,550 |
| First released | 2016 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Mailchimp | HubSpot, Marketo, Mailchimp |
What are Mailtrain and Mautic?
Mailtrain
Mailtrain is a self-hosted newsletter application built on Node.js that can handle large subscriber lists. It supports custom fields, automations, and campaign reporting.
- Manages large subscriber lists
- Custom fields and segmentation
- Automation workflows
- Campaign statistics
Mautic
Mautic is a powerful marketing automation platform that includes email campaigns, contact management, landing pages, and lead scoring. It is the leading open-source alternative to commercial marketing suites.
- Email and campaign automation
- Landing pages and forms
- Contact scoring and segmentation
- Extensive plugin ecosystem
Mailtrain vs Mautic: key differences
Mailtrain is written in JavaScript, while Mautic is built with PHP. Mailtrain is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Mautic. Mautic is the more established project (first released 2014), while Mailtrain arrived in 2016.
Why pick each one
Choose Mailtrain if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.8k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Watch out for
- Slower recent development
- Setup complexity
Choose Mautic if…
- Full marketing automation suite
- Large community
Watch out for
- Heavy and complex
- Steep learning curve
Frequently asked questions
Is Mailtrain or Mautic better?
Neither is universally better. Mautic has the larger community, while Mailtrain is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mailtrain and Mautic free and open-source?
Yes. Mailtrain is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Mautic under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mailtrain and Mautic with Docker?
Mailtrain: yes. Mautic: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Mailtrain or Mautic?
Mailtrain has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Mautic. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.