MailPoet Review: The WordPress-Native Newsletter Plugin That Keeps Everything In-House

MailPoet's appeal is straightforward: manage your email subscribers and send newsletters without ever leaving WordPress.

No external platform. No third-party login. Your data stays in your database. The email builder works right in your WordPress admin.

For WordPress purists, this sounds ideal. And for certain use cases, MailPoet is genuinely a solid choice.

But I want to give you the complete picture, including the tradeoffs that WordPress-native email involves, because there's a reason we typically recommend external platforms even though they cost more.

What MailPoet Actually Does

MailPoet has been around since 2011, making it one of the more established WordPress email solutions. In 2022, Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com and WooCommerce) acquired MailPoet.

That acquisition matters. It signals long-term investment and tighter integration with WooCommerce. But it also raises questions about whether MailPoet is evolving as an independent email platform or becoming a WooCommerce upsell tool.

Core Features:

• Drag-and-drop email builder
• 50+ email templates
• Subscriber management within WordPress
• Post notification emails (automatic emails when you publish)
• Welcome email sequences
• Basic automation triggers
• Subscriber segmentation
• WooCommerce integration (abandoned cart, product recommendations, purchase follow-ups)

What MailPoet Claims:

• 98.5% deliverability rate
• 50,000+ emails per hour sending capacity
• 500,000+ active WordPress installations

MailPoet Pricing: How the Model Works

MailPoet offers two sending options, and your costs depend on which you choose.

Option 1: MailPoet Sending Service (Recommended)

MailPoet's sending service handles deliverability. They manage IP reputation, bounce handling, and the technical email infrastructure.

Nonprofit Discount: 20% off paid plans

Option 2: Your Own SMTP

You can use MailPoet with your own SMTP provider (such as SendGrid, Amazon SES, Mailgun, etc.). The plugin is free, but you pay for the SMTP service.

This is where we have strong opinions.

The WordPress-Native Tradeoff

Here's something I need to be direct about.

"If you go use a Mailchimp or Constant Contact, you're taking advantage of their multi-million dollar infrastructure that was designed and built for exactly what you want to do."

It's the same argument for video hosting. "They have amazing technology. Its only job is to deliver videos. Your website and the hosting server that you're paying between $5 and $100 a month for is never going to deliver videos efficiently and as well as the big video providers."

The same applies to email. "You're just never, ever going to get that with a plugin. You're going to be making decisions and sacrifices here and there when you go that route."

The SMTP Reality

"Email sending is the stepchild of web hosting companies." Most hosting providers do not maintain their SMTP servers. They can go down for days or even weeks.

"One of the number one complaints we hear from people who are migrating from budget hosting companies is that they never get their contact form information. It's been down for weeks or months."

Sending large amounts of mail from some hosting providers is actually against their terms and conditions. "If a web server is designed to host websites, and yet people are sending mass amounts of email from that IP address, it can be blacklisted. Which can hurt the reputation of the domains on that server."

This is why MailPoet's built-in sending service matters. It addresses the SMTP problem by handling the sending infrastructure for you.

When We Allow MailPoet

At FatLab, if a client wants to use MailPoet, we require them to use either:

1. MailPoet's sending service, OR
2. A reputable external SMTP provider (SendGrid, Amazon SES)

We won't allow sending through the hosting server's default email function.

But even then, we typically recommend using Mailchimp or a similar platform instead. The external platforms have made massive investments in doing email very, very well. You're just never going to get that with a plugin.

What MailPoet Does Well

Despite my caveats, MailPoet has genuine strengths:

1. True WordPress Integration

Everything happens inside WordPress. Your subscriber data lives in your WordPress database. Post notifications pull content directly from WordPress rather than parsing RSS feeds. The editor is part of your admin.

For WordPress-centric organizations that want minimal external dependencies, this matters.

2. WooCommerce Integration

Since the Automattic acquisition, WooCommerce integration has become a major focus:

• Abandoned cart emails
• Post-purchase follow-ups
• Product recommendations
• Customer segmentation based on purchase behavior

If you're running a WooCommerce store and want basic email automation without Mailchimp or Klaviyo, MailPoet handles the fundamentals.

3. Simplicity for Newsletter Needs

MailPoet is best for newsletters and simple campaigns. If that's what you need, the straightforward interface is a feature, not a limitation.

4. Data Ownership

Your subscribers are in your database. No vendor lock-in. No export fees. No data portability concerns.

What MailPoet Doesn't Do Well

1. It's Not a CRM

"Mailchimp often markets itself as a CRM. But from what I've seen, it's really just a list manager. It's not a true customer relationship manager in the true sense of CRM."

MailPoet is similar in this regard.

Warning: "Do not install MailPoet and expect a full-blown CRM. You're not going to be doing customer relationship management there. You are going to be doing list building."

If you need true CRM, FluentCRM is a better fit. "FluentCRM provides real CRM tools within the website. That means so much more than just email delivery. Starting to step out of just email list management and working your way into true CRM, which is a whole other type of job."

2. Automation Depth

MailPoet's automation is adequate for welcome sequences and basic triggers. It's not ActiveCampaign. If you need complex if/then logic, behavioral triggers, or sophisticated sequences, you'll hit walls.

3. Template Library

MailPoet offers 50+ templates compared to Mailchimp's 100+. The templates are functional but not as polished as those on dedicated platforms.

4. Analytics and Reporting

Basic open and click rates are available. Industry benchmarks, advanced segmentation analytics, and the reporting depth of established platforms aren't there.

5. Support Response Times

We've seen reports of support response times of 24+ hours. If immediate support matters, this is a consideration.

6. Accessibility Concerns

Some reviews have noted accessibility issues, with certain assistive technology features stripped from the interface. If accessibility compliance matters for your organization, investigate this before committing.

The Automattic Acquisition Question

Since Automattic acquired MailPoet in 2022, the question becomes: where is this heading?

Two possible trajectories:

1. MailPoet Evolves to Compete with Mailchimp

Automattic invests in making MailPoet a full-featured email marketing platform that competes head-to-head with external services. More automation, better analytics, improved deliverability.

2. MailPoet Becomes a WooCommerce Upsell Tool

Focus narrows to WooCommerce email use cases. Investment prioritizes commerce features over general email marketing. The product becomes "email for WooCommerce stores" rather than "email marketing for WordPress."

Early signs suggest both are happening. WooCommerce integration is clearly a priority. But MailPoet is also still marketed as a general WordPress email solution.

For organizations choosing MailPoet today, the trajectory matters. You're not just buying current features; you're betting on the future direction of development.

MailPoet vs. External Platforms

The fundamental question: Should you keep email inside WordPress or use an external platform?

When MailPoet Makes Sense

• Smaller lists (under 5,000 subscribers)
• Newsletter-focused use cases
• WooCommerce stores wanting basic automation
• Organizations prioritizing a WordPress-centric stack
• Those who value data ownership
• Teams with WordPress admin familiarity

When External Platforms Win

• Growing organizations planning to scale
• Complex automation needs
• Professional associations with communications budgets
• Those who want specialized infrastructure
• Organizations valuing support response times

The One-Way Migration Pattern

Here's something that speaks to the WordPress-native vs. external question:

We've never migrated from an external platform to a native WordPress solution. I think that speaks to the kind of clients we work with.

We've certainly helped clients extract data from WordPress-native solutions and move it to systems like Mailchimp or Constant Contact.

The decision always goes in that direction; clients have outgrown the WordPress-native solutions and need more robust feature sets.

For smaller organizations, native WordPress solutions can work. For larger organizations doing more complex communication and marketing campaigns, you probably want third-party products.

Setup and Configuration

If you choose MailPoet, here's what the setup involves:

Basic Setup:

1. Install and activate the plugin
2. Connect to MailPoet sending service (or configure SMTP)
3. Set up subscription forms
4. Configure sender information and DNS records
5. Import existing subscribers if applicable

DNS Requirements:

• SPF record for sender authentication
• DKIM if using MailPoet sending service (they provide this)

The Deliverability Piece:

MailPoet's sending service claims a 98.5% deliverability rate. But deliverability isn't just about infrastructure. It depends on:

• List hygiene (clean, opted-in subscribers)
• Content quality (not triggering spam filters)
• Sending patterns (consistent, reasonable volume)
• Engagement rates (people opening and clicking)

The three keys to good deliverability are organized lists, relevant content, and a reasonable sending rate. The platform helps, but it doesn't replace these fundamentals.

Our Recommendation

MailPoet is a capable WordPress newsletter plugin. For the right use case, it works well. If you're weighing MailPoet against external platforms, our MailPoet vs Mailchimp comparison breaks down the key tradeoffs.

We recommend MailPoet for:

• Small organizations with straightforward newsletter needs
• WooCommerce stores wanting basic email automation
• Those who genuinely prioritize keeping everything in WordPress
• Situations where budget is the primary constraint

We recommend external platforms for:

• Growing organizations expecting to scale
• Professional associations with communications budgets
• Those wanting specialized email infrastructure
• Complex automation and segmentation needs
• Organizations where support response time matters

Most of our clients who consider themselves nonprofits or associations typically have healthy communications budgets. Fees from platforms like Mailchimp or Constant Contact are well within their budget.

For these clients, cost isn't the primary concern. We're not going to recommend a native WordPress solution even though it's cheaper. The external platforms are worth it.

The platform you choose is infrastructure. What you do with it, how you segment your lists, how you communicate with your members, that's what determines success.

For a broader look at how email marketing connects with WordPress and why we typically recommend external platforms, see our guide to WordPress email marketing. If you need help setting up MailPoet or integrating any email platform with your WordPress site, our website support services can handle the technical implementation.