Listmonk vs WriteFreely
Both Listmonk and WriteFreely are self-hosted alternatives to Substack.
Side by side
| Field | Listmonk | WriteFreely |
|---|---|---|
| Description | High performance newsletter and mailing list manager with a modern dashboard. | Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community. |
| GitHub stars | 24,112 | 5,283 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Platforms | Go, Docker | Go |
| Latest release | nightly, 1 November 2026 | v0.17.2, 10 August 2026 |
| Repository activity | 1 November 2026 | 28 September 2026 |
| Health | Active | Active |
| Categories | Communication - Email - Mailing Lists and Newsletters | Blogging Platforms |
| Website | https://listmonk.app/ | https://writefreely.org |
| Source code | https://github.com/knadh/listmonk | https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely |
Where the records differ
Computed from the two records above: a line appears only where the dataset states a figure, a date or a set relation, and no line recommends one application over the other.
- Listmonk has more GitHub stars in the dataset, 24,112 against 5,283.
- Listmonk recorded repository activity more recently, 1 November 2026 against 28 September 2026.
- Listmonk has the newer release on record: nightly, 1 November 2026, against v0.17.2, 10 August 2026.
- Both are listed under the same license: AGPL-3.0.
- Platforms differ: Listmonk lists Go, Docker; WriteFreely lists Go.
- Listmonk is filed under Communication - Email - Mailing Lists and Newsletters; WriteFreely is filed under Blogging Platforms.