MailCheap
Open-source newsletter platform billed per email sent, with AI agents for writing, scheduling, and analytics.
Updated 2026-10-16
Yes, within limits. MailCheap runs a free tier with paid plans above it.
Listed pricing: Free self-host; cloud from $19/mo or $0.95 per 1k emails.
Overview
MailCheap is an open-source newsletter platform for writing, scheduling, and sending campaigns, with the meter tied to emails that actually go out and with AI agents built into drafting, scheduling, and analytics. It is aimed at indie publishers and small marketing teams who want a list tool they can run themselves or rent cheaply, instead of a subscriber-tier product such as beehiiv or Kit.
Indie maker Marc Lou launched it in mid-October 2026. Public pricing is a free self-hosted install, plus a hosted cloud option from $19 a month or $0.95 per 1,000 emails. Cost tracks send volume, which favors smaller or irregular lists and gets expensive if you blast often. Lou's launch thread on X argued the model can cut spend sharply versus beehiiv; that is a founder claim, so recompute it against your own list size and cadence before treating the savings as given.
The agent layer is part of the product — copy, schedule, and analytics — rather than a separate writing add-on. What independent reporting has not established yet is deliverability at scale, the depth of audience features mature ESPs already ship (paid subscriptions, referrals, ad networks), or how much of the agent stack you must supply yourself. The license and the usage meter are the reasons to look; a proven replacement for a mature newsletter host is not.
Is MailCheap free?
Yes, within limits. MailCheap runs a free tier with paid plans above it.
What the free tier covers: Free to self-host the open-source app. Infrastructure and actual sending are still your cost unless you use the paid cloud option.
Listed pricing: Free self-host; cloud from $19/mo or $0.95 per 1k emails.
Pricing on this page has not been re-verified. The entry was last edited on , and no separate pricing check has been run since. Treat the figures as a record of what was published then and confirm on the official site.
What the free tier leaves out
Read straight off the plan list below. Vendors move features between tiers, so check the current split before you pay.
- Cloud From $19/mo Hosted MailCheap so you do not run the app yourself
- Email usage $0.95 per 1,000 emails Pay for emails sent; confirm on the site whether this replaces or stacks with the cloud fee
MailCheap pricing
| Plan | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Self-host | Free | Open-source install you operate; your own servers and any sending setup you configure |
| Cloud | From $19/mo | Hosted MailCheap so you do not run the app yourself |
| Email usage | $0.95 per 1,000 emails | Pay for emails sent; confirm on the site whether this replaces or stacks with the cloud fee |
Open-source install you operate; your own servers and any sending setup you configure
Hosted MailCheap so you do not run the app yourself
Pay for emails sent; confirm on the site whether this replaces or stacks with the cloud fee
Pricing on this page has not been re-verified. The entry was last edited on , and no separate pricing check has been run since. Treat the figures as a record of what was published then and confirm on the official site.
Is MailCheap worth it?
You can test that on the free tier before paying anything. The recorded trade-offs are listed below, and any one of them can settle the question on its own.
The 7.8/10 AI Score is an editorial read of published capability, price and shipping pace. Nobody here has hands-on hours with MailCheap. How we verify.
Worth it if
The strengths recorded against this entry.
- Open-source codebase with a free self-host path, which beehiiv and Kit do not offer
- Published send rate of $0.95 per 1,000 emails, so small or infrequent lists are not forced onto a high subscriber tier
- Hosted cloud from $19 a month for people who will not operate the software
- AI agents cover drafting, scheduling, and analytics in the same product rather than a separate copy tool
Not worth it if
Any one of these blocks your use case.
- Launched mid-October 2026, so deliverability, uptime, and support are unproven next to beehiiv or Kit
- Self-hosting moves updates, infrastructure, and compliance onto you
- Launch pricing states $19/mo or $0.95 per 1k emails without a clear public breakdown of what the flat plan includes
- No independent evidence yet of paid subscriptions, referral programs, or the other audience tools mature newsletter platforms already ship
Key features
Usage-based sending
Sending is priced at $0.95 per 1,000 emails, so the bill follows volume rather than how many people sit on the list. That is the checkable alternative to subscriber-tier newsletter SaaS.
Self-host option
The platform is open source and free to run on your own infrastructure. You take on hosting, updates, and compliance in exchange for skipping a hosted subscription.
Cloud hosting
A hosted plan starts at $19 a month for operators who do not want to run the software. Confirm on the pricing page how that flat fee combines with the per-thousand send rate.
Agent workflows
AI agents are wired into writing, scheduling, and analytics inside the newsletter workflow. The launch does not spell out which models you must connect or what those calls cost.
How it compares
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| MailCheap | — | Free self-host; cloud from $19/mo or $0.95 per 1k emails | 7.8/10 |
| Grok Bot | Anyone who wants an always-on teammate that signs into real apps, finishes work end to end, and only pings you for approval. | Included on eligible Cursor ($20+/mo), SuperGrok ($30+/mo), and Cursor Teams ($40+/seat/mo) plans. Product page also lists a Get started for free path. | 9.6/10 |
| Notion AI | Notion users who want an assistant that already knows their pages, databases, and documents for summaries and answers. | From $10/mo | 9/10 |
| Zapier | Teams that need to connect many SaaS apps and build automations from a plain-English description instead of manual setup. | Free tier + Professional from $19.99/mo + Team from $69/mo + Enterprise contact | 8.9/10 |
Compare head-to-head
Comparison explorer Put MailCheap up against any three tools Opens with MailCheap already loaded. Add up to three more from the full index and read pricing, features, pros and cons in one table. →Related reading
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