MailWizz alternative — self-hosted email marketing, compared

The 7-step playbook covered above, with every action expanded for the operator. Total time: ~½ day technical setup, then 1–5 days rebuilding templates & automations depending on list complexity.

1. 1. Export from MailWizz. MailWizz stores subscribers, lists, and campaigns in its own MySQL database. Export each list to CSV from the MailWizz customer/admin area (Lists → Export), or query the list_subscriber and related tables directly for very large data sets. Note your custom fields, segments, and which customer/list each belongs to so you can recreate the structure. Export campaign HTML from the template area, and note any autoresponders you'll rebuild.
2. 2. Get AcelleMail. Buy the Regular License — $80. Upload the ZIP to your server and run the 5-minute web installer (sets DB, admin user, cron). PHP 8.1+, MySQL ≥ 5.7 or MariaDB ≥ 10.3, ~512 MB RAM minimum. The installation guide covers cPanel, DigitalOcean, AWS, and Docker. If you already run MailWizz, your server already meets the PHP/MySQL/cron baseline.
3. 3. Reconnect your sending service. If you were sending through Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, SparkPost, or Elastic Email with MailWizz, add the same provider in Sending Servers → Add and paste your existing credentials — your SES domain/identity carries over. AcelleMail also adds Blastengine, Gmail relay, generic SMTP, and a plugin SDK if you want to broaden later. AcelleMail generates the SPF/DKIM records and signs DKIM at the app layer. Run the test-send to confirm.
4. 4. Import contacts + custom fields. In Lists → Create List, recreate each MailWizz list and its custom fields. Use Import → Upload CSV and map columns to AcelleMail subscriber fields one-to-one. For lists over 100k, use the chunked import or seed via the REST API. Recreate segments in the visual segment builder to match your MailWizz segments.
5. 5. Recreate templates, campaigns, and autoresponders. Paste your MailWizz HTML designs into AcelleMail's template editor, or rebuild them in the drag-and-drop builder. Merge-tag syntax differs — MailWizz uses square-bracket tags like [FNAME] / [LAST_NAME], AcelleMail uses {{ subscriber.first_name }}; use find/replace. MailWizz autoresponder series map to AcelleMail workflows: in Automation → New Workflow, lay out the same sequence as trigger → wait → send steps, then add condition/branch nodes if you want to evolve a linear series into a behavior-driven journey.
6. 6. Configure tracking + DKIM. Open/click tracking is enabled per campaign by default (open pixel + link wrapping). DKIM signing is configured at the Sending Server level — publish the DNS records AcelleMail generates. If you kept the same sending vendor and domain as your MailWizz install, the existing DKIM keys can usually be reused; otherwise publish new records and let DNS propagate before the cutover send.
7. 7. Test deliverability + cut over. Send a test campaign to GlockApps or Mail-Tester (free) and aim for 9.5/10. Run your next live campaign from AcelleMail in parallel for one cycle, compare open/click rates to your MailWizz baseline, then retire the MailWizz install. Most teams cut over inside a week.

The side-by-side table above shows feature parity; here is the supporting context for each row with a non-trivial note — useful when one platform is "partial" and you need the workaround.

Email creation

• Surveys: MailWizz includes a built-in surveys module per mailwizz.com. AcelleMail core does not ship surveys; pair with a dedicated form/survey tool if you need them.

Lists & segmentation

• Landing pages: MailWizz advertises landing-page creation. AcelleMail provides signup forms in core; full landing pages are typically paired with WordPress / Webflow.

Automation

• Visual multi-step workflow builder: AcelleMail ships Automation2 — a visual canvas with trigger / wait / condition / branch / segment-move nodes. MailWizz provides autoresponders plus marketing automation with behavior triggers; compare both in a demo to see which model fits your journeys.
• Conditional branching: AcelleMail branches a journey on engagement, tags, or field logic within one visual workflow. Evaluate MailWizz's automation branching against your requirements in its demo.

Deliverability

• Click maps + spam scoring: AcelleMail provides click heatmaps and SpamAssassin-style scoring per campaign. MailWizz provides detailed open/click reporting; confirm bundled spam-score scanning for your version against mailwizz.com.

Integrations

• WordPress / WooCommerce: AcelleMail ships an official WordPress / WooCommerce plugin. MailWizz integrates with WordPress via its API and community/third-party plugins.
• Zapier / Make / n8n: AcelleMail is pre-listed on Zapier / Make / n8n. MailWizz is reachable from these tools via its REST API.

SaaS / multi-tenancy

• Prorated upgrades + dunning: AcelleMail's Cashier package covers prorated plan upgrades and failed-payment dunning. Confirm MailWizz's proration/dunning behavior for your version against mailwizz.com.

Cost & ownership

• Full editable source code: AcelleMail ships full unencrypted PHP source you can modify privately. Verify MailWizz's source/modification terms for your needs against its license pages.

The TCO card above shows entry-tier numbers; this view stacks all three buyer situations so you can pick the closest match to your contact volume and send frequency.

Indie newsletter — 5,000 subscribers

• Situation: Weekly newsletter, a simple welcome drip, sending through Amazon SES.
• MailWizz cost: MailWizz Regular $86 one-time + $5/mo VPS + ~$0.30/mo SES. The welcome drip is a MailWizz autoresponder series. No recurring software fees.
• AcelleMail cost: $80 once + $5/mo VPS + ~$0.30/mo SES. The welcome drip is a workflow you can later branch on engagement; bundle includes A/B testing and segmentation as you grow.

SaaS team — product newsletter + onboarding

• Situation: 8,000 trial signups + 2,000 paid customers, weekly newsletter, 4-step onboarding sequence that branches on whether the user activated.
• MailWizz cost: MailWizz Regular $86 + $10/mo VPS + ~$2/mo SES. The 4-step onboarding runs as an autoresponder series; behavior-based branching uses MailWizz's automation triggers — evaluate the branching depth in its demo.
• AcelleMail cost: $80 once + $10/mo VPS + ~$2/mo SES. The onboarding is a single visual workflow — trigger on signup → wait → check activation → branch — built in the Automation2 UI without external code.

Agency — 50 client accounts

• Situation: Email service for 50 small-business clients, ~2,000 subscribers each, monthly newsletters, billed monthly.
• MailWizz cost: MailWizz Extended $275 one-time + ~$40/mo VPS + ~$30/mo SES across all clients on one install. Customer groups, price plans, and payment gateways handle the SaaS layer per mailwizz.com.
• AcelleMail cost: $199 Extended once + ~$40/mo VPS + ~$30/mo SES across all clients on one install. Built-in SaaS layer: per-client login, subscription plans, 6 payment gateways, prorated upgrades, and dunning.

Use the cost-savings calculator for a custom number against your exact subscriber count and send frequency.

Four objections every operator weighs before migrating away from MailWizz or any SaaS. Answered without spin — these are real tradeoffs, and the right pick depends on your team.

1. "Switching costs more than it saves."

Honest assessment: at lists under ~500 contacts, the MailWizz free or entry tier may be cheaper than running a $5–10/mo VPS plus the AcelleMail license — even before counting operator time. Break-even typically lands between 1,000 and 5,000 contacts. Run your own numbers via the cost calculator before deciding.

2. "Self-hosting deliverability will tank."

True if you run a self-managed MTA without warmup. NOT true when AcelleMail forwards through a managed sending service (Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark) — those vendors maintain IP reputation; AcelleMail only orchestrates campaigns and tracking. Reaching inbox-placement parity with MailWizz is the norm, not the exception, with this setup.

3. "My team doesn't have time to learn another tool."

Genuine concern. The AcelleMail UI mirrors common patterns (campaign builder, audience lists, automation flows) so most MailWizz users are productive on day one. The real time sink is rebuilding multi-step automations and template libraries — plan 1–5 days depending on complexity, not weeks.

4. "What if AcelleMail stops being maintained?"

Self-hosting flips the risk: you own a perpetual copy of the source. No vendor pricing change, deprecation, or acquisition can take the platform away. If updates stop, your existing install keeps running. Compare to SaaS where vendor decisions about pricing, features, or shutdowns are unilateral.

They are close cousins — both are mature, self-hosted PHP/MySQL email marketing apps sold as one-time commercial licenses (both originated on CodeCanyon), with unlimited subscribers, multiple sending servers, autoresponders, A/B testing, a customer/reseller SaaS layer, and a REST API. The honest deltas: AcelleMail ships the Automation2 visual branching workflow builder and a 4-pattern Hook plugin SDK; MailWizz ships a built-in surveys module. Run both demos against your workflow — the migration guide on the comparison page keeps the data move mechanical.

MailWizz's published pricing (mailwizz.com/pricing) is $86 for the Regular License and $275 for the Extended License, one-time with lifetime updates; the CodeCanyon listing shows the Regular License at $89. AcelleMail is $80 Regular and $199 Extended, also one-time with lifetime point/minor updates. Both are self-hosted, so your real bill is dominated by a $5–20/mo VPS plus your sending service (e.g. Amazon SES at ~$0.10 per 1,000 emails) — the license delta is a few dollars.

Yes. Export each MailWizz list to CSV (or query the MySQL tables directly for very large data), then use AcelleMail's Import → Upload CSV with custom-field mapping. Lists, custom fields, and segments map across one-to-one. Plan a half-day for under 5,000 contacts; 2–3 days when you also rebuild templates and automations. AcelleMail import also supports XLSX and direct DB seed for large lists.

Largely yes. MailWizz lists SMTP, Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, SparkPost, ElasticEmail, and PepiPost. AcelleMail ships 8 built-in drivers — Amazon SES, SendGrid, SparkPost, Mailgun, Elastic Email, Blastengine, Gmail relay, and generic SMTP — plus a plugin SDK for additional vendors. If you send through SES today, your domain/identity carries over directly; just paste the same credentials into Sending Servers → Add.

MailWizz provides autoresponders (drip series) plus marketing automation with behavior-based triggers per mailwizz.com. AcelleMail ships Automation2 — a dedicated visual canvas where you lay out trigger / wait / condition / branch / send / segment-move nodes and evolve a linear drip into a behavior-driven journey in the UI. Both cover automated follow-ups; the model differs, so compare both in a demo for your specific journeys.

Correct. MailWizz includes a built-in surveys module per mailwizz.com. AcelleMail core does not ship surveys — if survey collection is a first-class part of your workflow, pair AcelleMail with a dedicated form/survey tool and sync responses via the REST API, or factor surveys into your decision. This is a genuine point in MailWizz's favor.

Yes. Both offer a reseller/SaaS path on their Extended license. AcelleMail Extended ($199) bundles a multi-tenant layer: customer accounts, subscription plans, 6 payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, Razorpay, Paystack, Offline), prorated upgrades, dunning, and white-label branding. MailWizz supports unlimited customer accounts, customer groups, price plans, and payment gateways on its Extended license. See the For Developers page for the AcelleMail SaaS layer.

AcelleMail ships full, unencrypted PHP source you can read and modify privately, plus a 4-pattern Hook plugin SDK (REGISTRY, EVENT, FILTER, BEHAVIOR) — see the Plugin SDK. MailWizz is a commercial PHP product with a REST API and an extensions framework; verify its source/modification terms for your needs against its license pages.

No, if you keep the same sending service. Both apps orchestrate campaigns and tracking while a managed provider (Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, SparkPost) maintains IP reputation and does the actual delivery. Reuse the same SES/SMTP domain and DKIM keys and inbox placement stays consistent. AcelleMail's SPF/DKIM/DMARC tooling is built in — see Security & GDPR.

Both are self-hosted PHP + MySQL/MariaDB apps that send via cron. AcelleMail is Laravel-based and benefits from a queue worker and optional Redis; MailWizz runs on standard PHP hosting. If you already run MailWizz your server already meets the PHP/MySQL/cron baseline, so the operational profile is familiar — the installer is a 5-minute web wizard either way.