In simple English
This is a newsletter tool that lets you send emails to your readers. You can run it on your own server or use a paid cloud version. It charges you for the actual messages you send instead of your total subscriber count. You write issues, manage your contact lists, and publish public archives from a simple dashboard. It also connects with AI assistants so you can manage campaigns through chat.
What it is
MailCheap is an open-source newsletter application built with Next.js and MongoDB. It integrates with sending services like Amazon SES and PostShiba to deliver bulk campaigns with built-in deliverability protections.
What it is good for
Solo builders and creators who want to run independent newsletters without paying high monthly fees for inactive subscribers on mainstream platforms.
- Charges based on volume rather than total subscriber counts.
- Includes built-in list cleanup and domain warm-up tools.
- Connects with AI agents via the Model Context Protocol.
- Requires setting up external services like MongoDB and Amazon SES.
- Self-hosting demands about an hour of configuration time for DNS and security keys.
- AGPL-3.0 licence requires sharing modifications if you host it as a public service.
Beehiiv, Substack, Mailchimp
Amazon SES, MongoDB, Vercel
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git clone https://github.com/marclou/mailcheap.git && cd mailcheap npm install cp .env.example .env.local npm run dev