Mautic is the open-source marketing-automation platform most teams look at when they want to leave HubSpot Marketing Hub. It is GPL-3.0 software you run on your own servers: email campaigns, lead scoring, segments, landing pages and multi-step automation, with no per-contact subscription, and every contact record stays with you.
Short answer
Mautic is open source under GPL-3.0 and has been an independent community project since 2023, when Acquia handed its trademarks and governance to the Open Source Collective. It covers email automation, lead scoring, forms, landing pages and multi-channel campaigns. It is not a CRM, sales and service suite like HubSpot, so pair it with a CRM if you need one.
I run marketing and CRM programmes at MithTech, a team of Frappe specialists in Bengaluru. "We want HubSpot's automation without HubSpot's contract" is a common request from clients who have outgrown a free CRM tier and don't want marketing spend to grow with their contact list. Mautic saves money and gives you the data, but it asks for discipline in return. It is a platform you operate, not a switch you flip.
Why is Mautic the usual open-source answer to HubSpot?
Few open-source projects combine a visual campaign builder, lead scoring, segments, landing pages and multi-channel sending in one self-hostable platform. Mautic does, under GPL-3.0, and it is run by its own community rather than a single vendor.
The licence model is the real difference. HubSpot's Marketing Hub tiers are priced on marketing contacts and feature level; check HubSpot's page for current figures. With Mautic the software has no licence fee, and you pay for hosting, email sending and the skill to run it. The cost curve changes from "grows with your list" to "grows with your infrastructure", which for many businesses is a flatter line.
For the same move in other categories, see the directory of open-source SaaS alternatives.
What can Mautic do?
A drag-and-drop campaign builder chains triggers and actions without code. Contact segments, lead scoring, email campaigns with dynamic content, landing pages and forms are built in, and one campaign can send email, SMS and web notifications.
Mautic 7 modernised the stack: Symfony 7.3, PHP 8.4 support with PHP 8.2 as the minimum, and higher minimum MySQL and MariaDB versions. A REST API exposes contacts, segments and campaigns for custom integration, and plugins connect it to CRMs, so it can act as the automation layer next to a CRM you already run.
| Email campaigns and automation | Built in | Core strength |
| Lead scoring and segments | Built in | Core strength |
| Landing pages and forms | Built in | Solid |
| Multi-channel (email, SMS, web notifications) | Built in | Solid |
| REST API and CRM plugins | Built in | Good for integration |
| CRM, sales and service suite | Not included | Pair with a CRM |
Where does Mautic fall short of HubSpot?
HubSpot is an all-in-one suite: CRM, sales tools, service desk and marketing in one place, with a refined interface and built-in AI. Mautic is deliberately narrower. Anything beyond marketing automation you assemble yourself, and the interface, though much improved, still expects a hands-on operator.
The bigger gaps are operational. You own hosting, upgrades, backups and, above all, email deliverability: sender reputation and domain authentication. HubSpot handles all of that. Support differs too: Mautic's is community-driven unless you pay someone, while HubSpot includes vendor support.
| Scope | CRM + sales + service + marketing | Marketing automation |
| Hosting and upgrades | Vendor-managed | You, or whoever runs it for you |
| Email deliverability | Handled for you | Your responsibility |
| Data location | HubSpot's cloud | Your infrastructure |
| Licence | Subscription priced on contacts and tier | GPL-3.0, no licence fee |
| Support | Included | Community, or paid support |
Who is Mautic right for?
Growing businesses and agencies that have outgrown a free CRM tier. Teams that send real volumes of marketing email, want behaviour-based automation, and don't want the bill to climb with every contact get the most from it. Agencies often run one self-hosted instance for several clients instead of stacking subscriptions.
Privacy-conscious and regulated businesses are the other fit: when customer data must stay on infrastructure you control, self-hosting is the point. Mautic is a weaker fit for a non-technical founder who wants no operational overhead; that person is better served by a managed deployment, or by staying on a hosted tool until the numbers justify a move.
What do you pair it with for CRM?
Mautic stops at marketing. When a lead is warm, sales needs a CRM. Options that keep the stack open:
- Frappe CRM (AGPL-3.0) for a standalone sales pipeline; see the open-source Salesforce alternative comparison and the Frappe CRM page.
- ERPNext CRM when won deals must turn into quotations, orders and invoices in the same system.
- An existing CRM, connected through Mautic's plugins or its API.
How do you get a self-hosted Mautic running well?
The install is the easy part. Deliverability, data migration and automation design decide whether it works. This is the order we use:
Provision hosting and install Mautic
Size the server to your contact volume and sending cadence. Install the current Mautic 7.x release on supported PHP and database versions, behind HTTPS from day one.
Get email deliverability right first
Use a reputable sending service, set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your domain, and warm up your sending reputation gradually. This step separates a Mautic that lands in the inbox from one that lands in spam.
Migrate contacts and segments cleanly
Import your contacts, rebuild segments and keep each contact's consent status. Clean, de-duplicated data at import prevents scoring and automation errors later.
Rebuild your core campaigns
Recreate the welcome series, nurture and re-engagement campaigns in the builder, and set up lead scoring so sales sees warm contacts first. Connect your CRM through a plugin or the API.
Test, launch and monitor
Send test journeys through every branch, check deliverability with seed tests, then launch to a small segment before the full list. Watch bounce and engagement rates, and schedule upgrades and backups as routine.
Frequently asked questions
+Is Mautic really free?
The software is GPL-3.0 with no licence fee and no per-contact charge. You pay for hosting, an email-sending service and the skill to run it. A managed deployment adds a service cost; the software stays free.
+Is Mautic a full replacement for HubSpot?
It replaces HubSpot's marketing automation, not the whole suite. HubSpot also bundles a CRM, sales tools and a service desk. If you need those, run Mautic for marketing and pair it with a CRM, either an existing one through a plugin or a self-hosted one such as Frappe CRM.
+Can Mautic handle Indian email and SMS compliance?
It gives you the controls: consent tracking, unsubscribe handling, segments by permission and configurable sending. Compliance is a process, though. Because you self-host, you choose the sending service and the retention policy. For SMS in India, your SMS provider handles DLT template registration; check your obligations with your provider and your legal adviser.
+Which version of Mautic should I deploy?
Mautic 7.0 was released on 20 January 2026 as a long-term release with a four-year support cycle, and 7.x minor releases have followed. For a new deployment, run the current stable 7.x release on supported PHP and database versions.
+Do I need developers to run Mautic?
You need someone comfortable with servers, PHP and email deliverability; not a development team, but real operational skill. Non-technical teams should use a managed deployment where hosting, upgrades and deliverability are handled for them.
+How does Mautic compare to other open-source marketing tools?
It is the most complete general-purpose option: a visual campaign builder, lead scoring, multi-channel sending and CRM plugins together. Narrower tools exist for plain newsletters (Listmonk, for example) or transactional email; see the Mailchimp comparison.
We deploy, configure and host Mautic: deliverability, data migration, campaign design and upkeep, so you get open-source marketing automation without running it yourself.
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Manoj · Published on 20 July 2026
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