A self-hosted Mailchimp alternative with no per-contact pricing
Send newsletters and campaigns from your own domain on Cloudflare, for a flat license plus Cloudflare's per-email price, with your list in your own database.
Facts checked
The short answer
MarkRelay is a self-hosted Mailchimp alternative that runs in your own Cloudflare account. You pay a flat license instead of a price per contact, and subscribers, campaigns and results stay in your own database. Mailchimp prices by contacts, and its own help pages say subscribed, non-subscribed and unsubscribed contacts all count toward the limit; paid plans start at $13/month. MarkRelay costs $99/year plus Cloudflare's sending price, with no charge per contact. Choose Mailchimp for marketing automation flows, forms and its 300+ integrations; MarkRelay sends broadcasts and scheduled campaigns and leaves sign-up to your own site.
Side by side
| Feature | MarkRelayLicense from $99/yr | MailchimpHosted, priced by contacts |
|---|---|---|
| How it is priced | Flat license ($99/yr or $249 once) plus Cloudflare usage | By number of contacts |
| Which contacts count | No contact count | Subscribed, non-subscribed and unsubscribed |
| Paid plans start at | $99/yr, plus $5/mo Workers Paid | Essentials $13/mo, Standard $20/mo, Premium $350/mo |
| Free plan | No | 250 contacts, 500 emails a month |
| Where subscribers and results are stored | Your own Cloudflare D1 and R2 | Mailchimp |
| Recipients per send | Up to 100,000 per broadcast | By plan |
| One-click unsubscribe and suppression | RFC 8058 headers; unsubscribes, hard bounces and complaints suppressed automatically | Unsubscribe link; bounced addresses are cleaned |
| Email templates | Visual editor, starter designs and shared templates | Pre-built email templates |
| Scheduled sends | Yes | Email scheduling on paid plans |
| Automations | No | Marketing automation flows: up to 4 flow steps on Essentials, up to 200 flows on Standard and Premium |
| Sign-up forms | No: collect sign-ups on your own site and import them | Popup forms |
| Integrations | HTTP API and signed webhooks | 300+ integrations |
| Replies | Land in a MarkRelay mailbox your team answers | — |
| Servers to run | None: Cloudflare Workers, D1 and R2 | None |
| Needs | Domains on Cloudflare DNS (Free plan works) | Any DNS host |
How it is priced
- MarkRelay
- Flat license ($99/yr or $249 once) plus Cloudflare usage
- Mailchimp
- By number of contacts
Which contacts count
- MarkRelay
- No contact count
- Mailchimp
- Subscribed, non-subscribed and unsubscribed
Paid plans start at
- MarkRelay
- $99/yr, plus $5/mo Workers Paid
- Mailchimp
- Essentials $13/mo, Standard $20/mo, Premium $350/mo
Free plan
- MarkRelay
- No
- Mailchimp
- 250 contacts, 500 emails a month
Where subscribers and results are stored
- MarkRelay
- Your own Cloudflare D1 and R2
- Mailchimp
- Mailchimp
Recipients per send
- MarkRelay
- Up to 100,000 per broadcast
- Mailchimp
- By plan
One-click unsubscribe and suppression
- MarkRelay
- RFC 8058 headers; unsubscribes, hard bounces and complaints suppressed automatically
- Mailchimp
- Unsubscribe link; bounced addresses are cleaned
Email templates
- MarkRelay
- Visual editor, starter designs and shared templates
- Mailchimp
- Pre-built email templates
Scheduled sends
- MarkRelay
- Yes
- Mailchimp
- Email scheduling on paid plans
Automations
- MarkRelay
- No
- Mailchimp
- Marketing automation flows: up to 4 flow steps on Essentials, up to 200 flows on Standard and Premium
Sign-up forms
- MarkRelay
- No: collect sign-ups on your own site and import them
- Mailchimp
- Popup forms
Integrations
- MarkRelay
- HTTP API and signed webhooks
- Mailchimp
- 300+ integrations
Replies
- MarkRelay
- Land in a MarkRelay mailbox your team answers
- Mailchimp
- —
Servers to run
- MarkRelay
- None: Cloudflare Workers, D1 and R2
- Mailchimp
- None
Needs
- MarkRelay
- Domains on Cloudflare DNS (Free plan works)
- Mailchimp
- Any DNS host
Mailchimp prices are its “starting at” prices from mailchimp.com/pricing, checked October 18, 2026; some are 12-month introductory prices, and the price rises with the number of contacts.
Which one fits you
Choose Mailchimp if
- You want marketing automation flows.
- You need sign-up forms and e-commerce integrations out of the box.
- You would rather not set anything up on Cloudflare.
Choose MarkRelay if
- Your list is large but you send a predictable number of campaigns.
- You want a fixed cost that does not grow with every contact.
- Subscribers and results should stay in your own account.
- Your domains are already on Cloudflare, or can move their DNS there.
What newsletters cost, 4 sends a month
| Example | MailchimpEssentials, priced by contacts | MarkRelayLicense $8.25/mo ($99/yr) + Cloudflare | You savePer month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,500 contacts | $45Essentials | $15.70$8.25 license + $5 Workers Paid + $2.45 sending | $29.3065% less |
| 5,000 contacts | $75Essentials | $19.20$8.25 license + $5 Workers Paid + $5.95 sending | $55.8074% less |
| 10,000 contacts | $110Essentials | $26.20$8.25 license + $5 Workers Paid + $12.95 sending | $83.8076% less |
2,500 contacts
Mailchimp
MarkRelay
5,000 contacts
Mailchimp
MarkRelay
10,000 contacts
Mailchimp
MarkRelay
MarkRelay: the Annual license ($99/year) spread over 12 months, $8.25 a month whatever the volume, plus the Cloudflare bill: Workers Paid is $5/month with 3,000 sent emails included, then $0.35 per 1,000, and receiving is free. With Lifetime ($249 once), later years cost only the Cloudflare bill. Mailchimp: Essentials monthly list prices by contact tier, after the introductory offer, as published in Email Vendor Selection's pricing review; unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts also count toward the tier. Check Mailchimp's own calculator for today's price.
Common questions
Can I import my Mailchimp audience?
Export your audience as a CSV and import it into a broadcast. MarkRelay needs an email column; every other column, such as first name, becomes a variable you can use in the email. Addresses are validated and deduplicated on import, and anyone on your suppression list is skipped.
Does it have automations?
No. MarkRelay sends broadcasts now or at a scheduled time, and you can pause, resume and clone them. There are no automated journeys or drip sequences; if you need them, Mailchimp is the better fit.
Is there a contact limit?
Each broadcast goes to up to 100,000 recipients, and there is no charge per contact. Cloudflare charges per email sent.
Do unsubscribed contacts cost anything?
Not in MarkRelay: unsubscribes go on the suppression list and are not billed. Mailchimp's help pages say unsubscribed contacts count toward its contact limit.
Who is responsible for compliance?
The sender. MarkRelay adds one-click unsubscribe and an automatic suppression list; you are responsible for consent and for following CAN-SPAM, GDPR and Cloudflare's Email Service terms.
Keep reading
Own your email stack today
Buy MarkRelay once and run it in your Cloudflare account. MarkRelay adds no per-message or per-seat charge; Cloudflare usage and service limits remain separate.