Keila
Open-source newsletter tool on Hetzner and Scaleway, or on your own server
Quick Overview
| Company | Keila GmbH |
|---|---|
| Category | Email Marketing |
| Headquarters | Seybothenreuth, Germany |
| EU Presence | EU (Germany) |
| Data Location | Germany (Hetzner Online GmbH) and France (Scaleway SAS); outgoing mail via Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL (Luxembourg/Germany) only with the "Send with Keila" option; hCaptcha by Intuition Machines, Inc. (US). Self-hosted: your own server |
| Open Source | AGPL-3.0 |
| Pricing | Cloud from €8/month (2,000 emails) to €256/month (250,000 emails), unlimited contacts / self-hosting free |
| Free Option | None on the cloud (no free plan); self-hosting free |
| Replaces | Mailchimp, ConvertKit |
Detailed Review
Keila is an open-source newsletter tool under the AGPL-3.0 licence, published by Keila GmbH in Seybothenreuth, Germany, and it can be used as a hosted service or run on your own server. Keila's cloud is priced by emails sent with unlimited contacts, from €8 a month for 2,000 emails to €256 a month for 250,000, and self-hosting carries no licence fee. The cloud has no free plan, so trying Keila without paying means installing it yourself.
Keila's subprocessor list is precise and worth reading to the end. The servers are at Hetzner Online GmbH in Germany and Scaleway SAS in France.
Two American links sit at the edges: outgoing mail is relayed by Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL (Luxembourg/Germany), but only when a customer picks the "Send with Keila" option, and the captcha on signup forms is hCaptcha from Intuition Machines, Inc. in the US. Keila can also send through your own SMTP server or through SES, Mailgun or Postmark, so the choice of relay stays with the customer.
Keila offers block, Markdown and MJML editors and double opt-in forms with captcha protection, which is the core of a newsletter and not much beyond it. Self-hosted, the data sits on whatever server you run, and the list of processors shrinks to the ones you choose. The cost of that route is the familiar one: deliverability, upgrades and backups become work for your own team.
What Keila does well
- AGPL-3.0 licensed, with the source code public on GitHub
- Cloud servers at Hetzner in Germany and Scaleway in France
- Priced by emails sent with unlimited contacts, from €8 a month
- Free to self-host, with no licence fee at any list size
- Block, Markdown and MJML editors, plus a free choice of sending provider
Where Keila falls short
- The "Send with Keila" option relays mail through Amazon Web Services
- Signup-form captcha is hCaptcha from a US company
- No free plan on the cloud version
- Self-hosted, deliverability, upgrades and backups fall to your own team
Standout feature. Keila is the only newsletter tool here with open-source code, under the AGPL-3.0, so a team can start on the hosted service and later move the same software onto a server of its own.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- AGPL-3.0 licensed, with the source code public on GitHub
- Cloud servers at Hetzner in Germany and Scaleway in France
- Priced by emails sent with unlimited contacts, from €8 a month
- Free to self-host, with no licence fee at any list size
- Block, Markdown and MJML editors, plus a free choice of sending provider
Cons
- The "Send with Keila" option relays mail through Amazon Web Services
- Signup-form captcha is hCaptcha from a US company
- No free plan on the cloud version
- Self-hosted, deliverability, upgrades and backups fall to your own team
Alternatives to Keila
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Keila?
Keila is an open-source newsletter tool under the AGPL-3.0 licence, published by Keila GmbH in Seybothenreuth, Germany, and it can be used as a hosted service or run on your own server. Keila's cloud is priced by emails sent with unlimited contacts, from €8 a month for 2,000 emails to €256 a month for 250,000, and self-hosting carries no licence fee. The cloud has no free plan, so trying Keila without paying means installing it yourself.
Where is Keila based?
Keila operates from Seybothenreuth, Germany, which places it under EU (Germany).
What does Keila cost?
Cloud from €8/month (2,000 emails) to €256/month (250,000 emails), unlimited contacts / self-hosting free. None on the cloud (no free plan); self-hosting free.
Who is Keila best for?
Teams that want an open-source newsletter tool they can run hosted or on their own server. Keila is the only newsletter tool here with open-source code, under the AGPL-3.0, so a team can start on the hosted service and later move the same software onto a server of its own.
What are the drawbacks of Keila?
The "Send with Keila" option relays mail through Amazon Web Services. Signup-form captcha is hCaptcha from a US company. No free plan on the cloud version. Self-hosted, deliverability, upgrades and backups fall to your own team.
Is Keila a good alternative to Mailchimp?
Keila is built as a European alternative to Mailchimp: Open-source newsletter tool on Hetzner and Scaleway, or on your own server. It will not be a like-for-like feature match in every respect, so check the review above for where the two genuinely differ before switching.
How does Keila compare to other Email Marketing tools?
Keila is one of several European Email Marketing tools we cover. It is most often compared with Mailchimp, ConvertKit.