Postalion

Free newsletter plugin for WordPress · v1.7

Newsletters from your own WordPress. No limits. No monthly bill.

Subscribers in your database. Mail through your own service. Lists, tags, templates, scheduling, statistics and automatic emails, all in one free plugin that phones nobody.

Download free See it work
The Postalion composer in the WordPress admin: subject line, a choice of five templates, and the send and schedule controls.
The same newsletter as it arrives on a phone.

Written in WordPress.
Read on any phone.

POSTALION ★ NEWSLETTER PLUGIN ★ WORDPRESS ★ NO SUBSCRIBER FREE LIMITS

0 subscriber limits

0 sending limits

0 requests to outside servers

1 click to unsubscribe

8 templates

13 tables, your database

GPL · WordPress 5.8+ · PHP 7.4+

Everything inside, all free

One plugin. The whole list.

What other plugins split across a free tier and five add-ons sits in one place here. No subscriber limits, no logo in your emails, no account to create. Every feature, in detail · what changed in 1.7.

  • 01 · Write

    A composer with eight templates and blocks made for email.

    The editor with the block bar: headline, button, two columns, image and text, note, divider.

  • 02

    Lists, tags, fields

    Group, label and describe people; filter, send to a tag, write {city} in an email.

  • 03

    Sign-up anywhere

    Block, shortcode, popup, Elementor, Beaver, Bricks, Divi, and a box at the WooCommerce checkout.

  • 04

    Background sending

    Batches with a pause, scheduling, live progress, stop and resume. SMTP built in.

  • 05

    Automatic emails

    Welcome email, each new post, or a digest by category: daily, weekly, monthly.

  • 06

    Statistics, when you want them

    Opens, clicks and the most clicked links per newsletter, counted on your server. Off by default.

    The report of a sent newsletter: delivered, opened, clicked, and the clicked links.

  • 07

    Email log

    Every email, sent or failed with the reason, and a preview of each one.

  • 08

    Web version, archive

    "View in browser" in every newsletter, and a page that lists the ones you sent.

  • 09

    WooCommerce

    Checkout box, a Customer tag and last-order fields, new-product emails.

  • 10

    Bring your list

    CSV in and out, imports from MailPoet and Newsletter with lists and fields.

  • 11

    Privacy built in

    Double opt-in, one-click unsubscribe, WordPress export and erase requests answered.

  • 12

    Free, for good

    A Pro add-on will add, never take away.

Chapter one · Write

Write it like a letter, not a landing page.

Pick a template, type, drop in a headline, a button, two columns, a note. The reader's name goes where it belongs. Preview it on a phone, send yourself a test, then send it for real or schedule it.

  1. 01Blocks made for email clients, not browsers
  2. 02{first_name}, {city} and any custom field, filled in per reader
  3. 03Preview for desktop and phone, test email in one click
  4. 04Eight templates: Classic, Letter, Bulletin, Announcement, Card, Programme, Shop, School

How the composer and the templates work

The editor with the block bar.
The finished newsletter in the Classic template.

Chapter two · Send and know

Sent in batches. Logged one by one.

A list of five thousand does not go out in one request. Postalion queues every recipient and sends in small batches with a pause, so shared hosting keeps up. Every email that leaves is in the log, with a preview, and every newsletter gets a report if you turn statistics on.

  1. 01Batch size and pause are yours; stop and resume any time
  2. 02SMTP built in with a test button, or the mail plugin you already use
  3. 03Sent, failed and why; a preview of each email
  4. 04Opens, clicks and the most clicked links, counted on your server

Sending, batches and the SMTP setup

The Sending screen: a newsletter at 10 of 47 emails, with buttons to send the next batch or stop.
The email log: who each email went to, when, and whether the mail server took it.

Chapter three · Grow and automate

A list people chose. Emails that send themselves.

Forms that fill a list, add a tag, ask for a field. Double opt-in before anyone is added. Then a welcome email, each new post as a newsletter, or a digest of the week by category, to everyone or to people with a tag.

  1. 01Block, shortcode, popup, page-builder elements, form-plugin boxes
  2. 02Lists, tags and custom fields in filters, audiences and emails
  3. 03Welcome, new post, digest: off until you turn them on
  4. 04WooCommerce buyers tagged Customer, with last-order fields

Every way people can sign up

The Lists, tags and fields screen: lists and tags, each with its own sign-up shortcode.
The Automatic emails card in Settings: welcome email and digest switched on.
The Subscribers screen with lists, tags, status and filters.

Templates

Eight letters, ready on day one.

Plain tables email clients understand, your logo or site name on top. Each one, up close.

Classic template: site name on top, serif headline, two columns and a button.
Classic for almost anything
Letter template: plain white page with serif text, like a personal letter.
Letter a personal note
Bulletin template: name and date in the header, bold headings and a dark footer.
Bulletin regular updates
Announcement template: red band on top, large centred headline and a red button.
Announcement launches and tickets
Card template: a rounded white card on a soft background.
Card short and friendly
Programme template: cream paper, serif text, the date in a green band.
Programme venues and courses
Shop template: white, dark header bar, bold headlines.
Shop products and prices
School template: blue header with the date, rounded card.
School schools and associations

By design

What it leaves out, on purpose.

A newsletter is a conversation between you and the people who asked to hear from you. The plugin stays out of it.

No tracking by default

Opens and clicks are off until you turn them on. Then they are counted on your server, in your database, shared with no one.

No phoning home

No telemetry, no account, no requests to outside servers. The plugin talks to your database and your mail service, nothing else.

No lock-in

Subscribers live in your own WordPress database. Export the whole list to a CSV file whenever you like.

No hard goodbyes

One-click unsubscribe in every email, and WordPress's requests to export or erase a person's data answered.

Free & Pro

Free now. Pro in November, at a founder's price.

The free plugin is complete on its own. Pro adds features for shops and larger lists; it removes no limits, because there are none. What is in Pro.

Postalion

Free GPL · forever

  • Unlimited subscribers and sends
  • Forms, block, popup, builder elements, double opt-in
  • Lists, tags, custom fields, audiences by tag
  • Composer, eight templates, scheduling, batches
  • Welcome email, new posts, digest by category
  • Statistics, log, web version, archive
  • SMTP, imports, WooCommerce basics
Download free

Version 1.7.0 (what changed). Free in the WordPress.org plugin directory.

Postalion Pro · November

$59 per year, one site$35 for the first fifty

Coming in Pro. Tick what matters to you:

One email when Pro is out, perhaps a question before that. You confirm your address first and can unsubscribe with one click. Nothing in the free plugin will move behind a price.

Questions

Before you install.

Is it really free? What is the catch?

Yes. The plugin is open source under the GPL and has no limits on subscribers or on sending. The Pro add-on adds features; the free plugin does not depend on it and loses nothing.

How are the emails actually sent?

Through WordPress's own mail function, or through an SMTP server you enter under Settings → Sending method: your own, or a service such as Brevo, Amazon SES, Mailgun or Postmark. The sending page explains the choices.

How many emails can I send?

As many as your host or mail service allows. Postalion does not count. You set the batch size and the pause between batches so the send stays inside their limits.

Does it help with GDPR?

It gives you the tools: double opt-in, an unsubscribe link in every email, and support for WordPress's requests to export or erase a person's data. Open and click statistics are off by default and counted on your own server.

Does it work with WooCommerce?

Yes: a sign-up box at the checkout, a Customer tag and last-order fields for buyers who subscribed, and new-product emails. Abandoned-cart and post-purchase emails come with Pro. See the WooCommerce page.

Can I have more than one list?

Yes, as many as you like, plus tags and custom fields. A sign-up form can fill a particular list, and a newsletter can go to everyone, to the lists you pick or to everyone with a tag. Unsubscribing is always for all lists at once.

Do I have to set up a cron job?

No. Sending runs on WP-Cron, which WordPress triggers whenever someone visits the site. On a very quiet site a real cron job makes scheduled sends more punctual, but it is optional.

What does it need?

WordPress 5.8 or newer and PHP 7.4 or newer. Translated into Romanian and Spanish, with more languages on translate.wordpress.org.

Your list. Your server. Your letters.

Install it, send yourself a test, and see whether it suits you.

Download Postalion, free