Keila and Sendy are both budget-conscious alternatives to subscription email marketing platforms, but they reach that goal differently. Keila is fully open…
Best for Keila: GDPR-focused teams that want either free, open-source self-hosting or a managed EU-hosted option, plus Liquid-based personalization and a form builder with bot protection.
Best for Sendy: Agencies or cost-sensitive senders who want to pay once ($69 per domain) instead of subscribing, and who are comfortable configuring Amazon SES for sub-cent-per-email sending costs; Sendy also documents white-labeled "brands" for managing multiple clients' newsletters.
At a Glance
Keila
Sendy
Primary category
Email Marketing
Email Marketing
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Open Source (self-hosted); Subscription (Keila Cloud)
One-time license purchase for self-hosted software, with no recurring subscription fee
Keila: Keila is fully open source under AGPLv3, free to self-host indefinitely.
Sendy: Sendy is a commercially licensed script sold for a one-time $69 fee per domain, with no indication it is open source.
Open-source licensing affects whether you can audit, modify, and redistribute the code, while Sendy's model is pay-once-per-domain without source freedom.
Sending Infrastructure
Keila: Keila's documented features don't specify a required SMTP provider; Keila Cloud plans are priced by monthly email volume (e.g., €8/month for 2,000 emails on Keila XS).
Sendy: Sendy is built specifically around Amazon SES (or SendGrid, Mailjet, Elastic Email) integration, advertising roughly $1 per 10,000 emails sent.
Sendy's SES-routed model can be dramatically cheaper per email at high volume than a flat monthly SaaS-style tier.
Pricing Structure
Keila: Keila is either free to self-host or billed monthly for Keila Cloud across six tiers from €8/month (2,000 emails) to €256/month (250,000 emails).
Sendy: Sendy charges a one-time $69 license per domain, plus an optional $79 installation service and a $39 AI Assistant add-on.
A one-time fee versus a recurring subscription changes long-term cost projections very differently.
Agency/Multi-client Features
Keila: Keila's documented features don't mention white-labeling or multi-brand/client management.
Sendy: Sendy documents "white-labeled brands" for client account management, letting agencies run multiple newsletters under one install.
Agencies managing newsletters for multiple clients need built-in multi-tenant or white-label support.
AI Features
Keila: Keila's documented feature list includes no AI capability.
Sendy: Sendy offers an optional paid "AI Assistant" add-on ($39, discounted from $49) for generating newsletters, subject lines, and campaign insights.
AI-assisted copywriting can speed up campaign creation, but it's an added cost on Sendy and simply absent from Keila.
Feature-by-Feature
Licensing & Hosting
Feature
Keila
Sendy
License type
Available
Available
Self-hosting
Available
Available
Managed cloud option
Available
Unavailable
Sending & Campaigns
Feature
Keila
Sendy
Amazon SES integration
Not documented
Available
Transactional email API
Available
Not documented
Segmentation
Available
Available
Autoresponders / drip sequences
Not documented
Available
Agency & AI Features
Feature
Keila
Sendy
White-labeled client management
Not documented
Available
AI writing assistant
Unavailable
Available
Form builder with bot protection
Available
Not documented
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Keila
Self-Hosted — Free Free forever (Docker)
Keila Cloud XS — EUR 8/month Monthly
Keila Cloud S — EUR 16/month Monthly
Keila Cloud M — EUR 32/month Monthly
Keila Cloud L — EUR 64/month Monthly
Keila Cloud XL — EUR 128/month Monthly
Keila Cloud XXL — EUR 256/month Monthly
Sendy
Single Site License — $69 one-time payment One-time
Amazon SES usage — Approximately $1 per 10,000 emails Pay-as-you-go
Pros & Cons
Keila
Pros
100 percent open source with no proprietary premium features
Self-hosted version is free and functionally identical to paid Keila Cloud
EU-hosted managed option in Germany and France supports strict GDPR compliance
Privacy-first analytics that can be fully disabled
Bring-your-own email provider flexibility
Cons
No permanent free tier for the managed Keila Cloud service
Smaller community and fewer integrations than Mailchimp or Mautic
Fewer built-in automation workflows than competitors like Mailcoach
Newer and less production-hardened than more established open-source tools like Listmonk
Self-hosting requires familiarity with Elixir and Docker
Sendy
Pros
Dramatically lower sending costs than SaaS email platforms thanks to Amazon SES pricing
Full control and ownership of data since the application is self-hosted
Lightweight PHP and MySQL stack runs on standard shared or VPS hosting
Unlimited subscribers, campaigns, and emails once the license is purchased
Cons
Requires self-hosting and basic server maintenance skills
Deliverability and Amazon SES reputation management is the user's own responsibility
Fewer built-in integrations than mainstream SaaS email service providers
Interface and templates are more basic than modern hosted competitors
Support relies on documentation and community forums rather than a dedicated support team
Use Cases
Choose Keila: GDPR-focused teams that want either free, open-source self-hosting or a managed EU-hosted option, plus Liquid-based personalization and a form builder with bot protection.
Choose Sendy: Agencies or cost-sensitive senders who want to pay once ($69 per domain) instead of subscribing, and who are comfortable configuring Amazon SES for sub-cent-per-email sending costs; Sendy also documents white-labeled "brands" for managing multiple clients' newsletters.
Need both: There's no realistic scenario for running both concurrently — they solve the identical self-hosted-newsletter problem, so a team would pick one licensing/hosting model (open-source Keila vs. commercially-licensed Sendy) rather than operate both.
Keila
GDPR-conscious European newsletters — EU businesses and nonprofits send newsletters through EU-hosted infrastructure to meet strict privacy requirements.
Self-hosted developer newsletter — Developers and open-source projects self-host Keila for full control with no per-contact fees.
Nonprofit and advocacy campaigns — Nonprofits and community groups run email campaigns while respecting subscriber privacy.
Sendy
High-volume newsletter publishing — Bloggers and publishers with large subscriber lists use Sendy to cut recurring sending costs via Amazon SES.
Developer-controlled email infrastructure — Developers and agencies use Sendy for full control over their email sending stack instead of relying on a third-party SaaS provider.
Cost-sensitive bulk sending — Businesses with very large lists use Sendy to minimize per-email sending costs compared to subscription-based ESPs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Keila or Sendy cheaper?
It depends on usage. Sendy is a one-time $69 fee per domain plus SES costs (~$1/10,000 emails), while Keila is free to self-host or €8-€256/month for the managed Keila Cloud tiers.
Are both open source?
Keila is, under AGPLv3. Sendy is not documented as open source; it's a commercially licensed script.
Which is better for agencies managing multiple clients?
Sendy documents white-labeled "brands" for client account management built specifically for agency use; Keila's documented features don't mention an equivalent white-label capability.
Do either offer AI features?
Sendy offers a separate paid AI Assistant add-on ($39) for newsletters and subject lines. Keila's documented features don't include AI capabilities.
Which one requires Amazon SES?
Sendy is built around Amazon SES (or SendGrid, Mailjet, Elastic Email) for low-cost sending. Keila's facts don't specify a required SMTP provider.
Is there a managed hosting option for either?
Keila offers Keila Cloud, hosted on EU infrastructure, from €8/month. Sendy has no managed cloud option; it's self-hosted only, though a paid installation service ($79) is available.