Mautic and Sendy both let you self-host your email sending, but they target very different scopes. Mautic is a full open-source marketing automation platform…
Best for Mautic: Marketing teams running multi-step lead-nurturing campaigns across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and landing pages who want a self-hosted automation platform with lead scoring, and who are willing to manage their own server (or pay €247.50+/month for Dropsolid-managed hosting).
Best for Sendy: Cost-sensitive senders who just need to send newsletters cheaply — Sendy's one-time $69 fee and roughly $1-per-10,000-emails SES routing suit simple broadcast sending rather than automated nurture flows.
At a Glance
Mautic
Sendy
Primary category
Email Marketing
Email Marketing
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium / Open Source
One-time license purchase for self-hosted software, with no recurring subscription fee
Starting price
Free (self-hosted, open source); Mautic Cloud from roughly EUR 247.50/month
$69 one-time payment for a single-site license
Free plan
Yes
Not documented
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Yes
Key Differences
Product Scope
Mautic: Mautic is a full marketing automation platform covering email, landing pages, and lead nurturing, with a drag-and-drop campaign builder for multi-step automation.
Sendy: Sendy is described as an email newsletter script focused on sending, with no landing-page builder or lead-scoring feature documented.
The two tools solve very different problems: orchestrated multi-step campaigns vs. simple broadcast sending.
Channels Supported
Mautic: Mautic documents omnichannel messaging across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and notification channels.
Sendy: Sendy's documented features are email-only, sent via Amazon SES or similar providers.
Multi-channel reach matters for teams running coordinated campaigns beyond email.
Lead Scoring & Nurturing
Mautic: Mautic documents lead scoring and segmentation based on behavior and data specifically for nurture campaigns.
Sendy: Sendy documents list segmentation and autoresponders (drip sequences) but no lead-scoring capability.
Lead scoring lets sales and marketing prioritize which contacts are most sales-ready.
Pricing Structure
Mautic: Mautic's core software is free and open source to self-host, with official managed hosting via Dropsolid starting at €247.50/month (Essential) up to €1,237/month (Professional).
Sendy: Sendy charges a one-time $69 fee per domain with no recurring subscription option, plus optional $79 installation and $39 AI add-on.
Mautic's managed tier is priced for organizations with marketing budgets, while Sendy's one-time fee suits solo operators or small businesses.
Scale/Community
Mautic: Mautic states it is used by 200,000+ companies with 40,000+ participating in its community.
Sendy: Sendy's documented facts don't include a comparable user-count figure.
Community size affects the availability of plugins, documentation, and third-party support.
Feature-by-Feature
Campaign Capabilities
Feature
Mautic
Sendy
Multi-step campaign automation
Available
Unavailable
Landing page builder
Available
Unavailable
Lead scoring
Available
Unavailable
Autoresponders/drip sequences
Not documented
Available
Channels & Sending
Feature
Mautic
Sendy
Email sending
Available
Available
SMS/WhatsApp messaging
Available
Unavailable
REST API
Available
Not documented
Pricing & Hosting
Feature
Mautic
Sendy
Self-hosting
Available
Available
Managed hosting
Available
Unavailable
White-labeled client management
Not documented
Available
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Mautic
Mautic Open Source — Free N/A
Cloud Essential — ~EUR 247.50/month monthly
Cloud Professional — From ~EUR 1,237/month monthly
Cloud Enterprise — Custom 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
Mautic
Pros
Free, fully open-source core with no licensing fees for self-hosting
Enterprise-grade automation depth rivaling paid platforms like Marketo
Backed by Acquia, giving it stability and integration with Drupal's digital experience platform
Large global installed base and active open-source community
Highly customizable due to open codebase and extensive plugin ecosystem
Cons
Self-hosting requires infrastructure setup, maintenance and a separate SMTP provider
Cloud pricing rises quickly at higher contact and sending volumes
Steeper learning curve than simpler tools like Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign
UI can feel dated compared to newer marketing automation platforms
Advanced deliverability and support require paid Cloud tiers or third-party services
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 Mautic: Marketing teams running multi-step lead-nurturing campaigns across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and landing pages who want a self-hosted automation platform with lead scoring, and who are willing to manage their own server (or pay €247.50+/month for Dropsolid-managed hosting).
Choose Sendy: Cost-sensitive senders who just need to send newsletters cheaply — Sendy's one-time $69 fee and roughly $1-per-10,000-emails SES routing suit simple broadcast sending rather than automated nurture flows.
Need both: A growth team could run Mautic for complex multi-channel lead-nurturing campaigns while using Sendy for a separate, high-volume simple newsletter, such as a public blog digest, where Mautic's automation overhead isn't needed and Sendy's flat per-email SES cost is cheaper at scale.
Mautic
Cost-effective enterprise marketing automation — Mid-market and enterprise teams need Marketo- or HubSpot-level automation without high per-contact licensing costs.
Drupal-based digital experience marketing — Organizations already using Acquia's Drupal-based digital experience platform integrate Mautic for unified marketing.
Data-sovereign marketing automation — Organizations that must keep contact and campaign data on their own infrastructure self-host Mautic.
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 Mautic more powerful than Sendy?
Mautic covers more ground. It's a full marketing automation platform with campaign automation, landing pages, and lead scoring, while Sendy is focused specifically on newsletter sending via Amazon SES.
Which is cheaper to run?
Sendy's one-time $69-per-domain fee plus roughly $1-per-10,000-email SES costs is typically cheaper than Mautic's managed hosting, which starts at €247.50/month; Mautic's self-hosted Community Edition is free but requires you to manage the server yourself.
Does Sendy support SMS or WhatsApp?
No, Sendy's documented features are email-focused. Mautic documents omnichannel messaging across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and notifications.
Can I self-host both?
Yes. Mautic's Community Edition is free and self-hosted, and Sendy is inherently self-hosted (a PHP/MySQL script) after paying the one-time license fee.
Which is better for lead nurturing?
Mautic, since it documents lead scoring and behavior-based segmentation specifically built for nurture campaigns; Sendy offers simpler autoresponders and list segmentation without lead scoring.
Does either include an AI assistant?
Sendy offers an optional paid AI Assistant add-on ($39) for generating newsletters and subject lines. Mautic's documented features don't include an AI writing tool.