Compare phpList and mailerrocket on pricing, features, platforms, and ratings — both Email Marketing tools, Freemium vs Paid (free trial available) pricing to…
At a Glance
phpList
mailerrocket
Primary category
Email Marketing
Email Marketing
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium
Paid (free trial available)
Starting price
Free (self-hosted) or from $1/month (hosted service)
$27.98 /mo
Free plan
Not documented
Not documented
Free trial
Not documented
Yes
Platforms
Web
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Yes
Public API
Yes
Yes
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
phpList
Self-Hosted — Free N/A
Hosted (phpList.com) — From $1/month Monthly, pay per subscriber or per message
mailerrocket
No individual plan breakdown documented yet.
Pros & Cons
phpList
Pros
Core software is free and open source, avoiding per-contact SaaS pricing at scale
Self-hosting gives full control and ownership of subscriber data
Hosted plans are inexpensive compared to many mainstream email marketing SaaS tools
Long track record with roughly 75,000 organizations reported using the platform
API and plugin system support custom integrations
Available in multiple languages for international teams
Cons
Self-hosted setup requires technical skill to configure a reliable mail server
Interface and campaign editor feel less polished than modern SaaS competitors like Mailchimp
Deliverability depends heavily on the user's own server reputation when self-hosted
Fewer built-in marketing automation and design templates than larger commercial platforms
Support for the free self-hosted edition relies mainly on community resources
mailerrocket
Pros
Offers two separate pricing tracks (by subscriber count or by monthly email volume), so customers can pick the model that fits how they send.
Includes a built-in AI Email Writer to help draft campaign copy.
Supports domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and branded links to help with deliverability and sender trust.
7-day free trial lets prospects test the platform before subscribing to a paid plan.
Cons
Entry-level plans cap out at fairly small subscriber counts or email volumes before an upgrade is required.
Top-tier plans (e.g., high-volume send tiers) are priced well beyond typical small-business budgets.
Public site content shows limited native integrations beyond a WordPress plugin and API access -- no prominent list of third-party app integrations (e.g., CRM, e-commerce platforms) is shown.
Use Cases
phpList
Nonprofit and NGO email campaigns — Nonprofits with tight budgets self-host phpList to send donor and community newsletters without per-contact SaaS fees.
Developer-managed newsletter infrastructure — Development teams that already manage their own servers use phpList's API to integrate newsletter sending directly into their applications.
Cost-conscious large-list publishers — Publishers and community sites with large subscriber lists use phpList's hosted per-message pricing to avoid the high per-contact costs of mainstream SaaS email tools.