Tried listmonk as a FOSS Mailchimp alternative but it lacked needed features
“I've both tried ListMonk and Bespoke but both lack on features I might need”
One person says they left listmonk; what else pushes users away, and what its category peers report
Friction holds 11 sourced reports about listmonk (listmonk.app) from 64 public source threads (as of 2026-10-15); only 1 of them says the author left. This page shows that report, what its users say pushes them away, and the problem profile of Mailchimp.
Get started free with your email Open listmonk on Friction
Where listmonk users say they went
Switching reports that name a destination. A count is the number of reports naming it, not a market share: Friction only holds what people say in public.
| Named alternative | Reports naming it | Newest report |
|---|---|---|
| Pikapods | 1 | 2025 |
| Mailchimp (compare) | 1 | 2023 |
| phpList | 1 | 2023 |
The reports of leaving
What pushes people away from listmonk
The most-reported open problems, worst severity first. Each links to the item with its source.
Sorting the Lists page by Subscribers throws a database error · Reliability & bugs · Blocks work
“On the "Lists" page when clicking on sort "Subscribers" column I get the following error `error fetching lists: column "subscriber_count" does not exist`”
Self-hosted tools add update, monitoring and backup workload · Self-hosting & upgrades · Annoyance
“The main objection is that with more moving parts to worry about, the workload for me also increases”
No multitenancy forces one listmonk instance per domain · Self-hosting & upgrades · Annoyance
“One thing I don’t particularly like about listmonk is that it doesn’t really support multitenancy”
Listmonk still needs an external mail backend such as SES for deliverability · Setup & onboarding · Annoyance
“But you still end up needing to connect it to a mailing backend like AWS SES or similar”
Back button after subscribing does not return to the website's form · UI & usability · Annoyance
“You won't be redirected to the page containing the subscription form”
See all 11 themes for listmonk
Other email and marketing tools on Friction, and what their users struggle with
Switching trades one set of problems for another. The same evidence, for each tool Friction covers in this category:
Mailchimp
23 reports · 98 source threads · most-discussed area: Pricing & plans
- Account closed without warning based on country
- Template editor bugs break designs
- Unverified signups enable repeated spam
listmonk vs Mailchimp: side by side · Mailchimp alternatives
Counts and reports reflect people who post in public (developers and technical buyers are over-represented). A tool with fewer reports is not a better tool; it may only be discussed less. How the data is built.