What it is

SendPortal is an open-source, self-hosted email marketing application built in PHP and Laravel. It lives in the PHP and Laravel ecosystem and is distributed under the MIT license. Its core functionality is packaged as SendPortal Core, while the SendPortal application wraps that core with user authentication and multiple workspaces.

The project solves the cost and control problem for teams that need newsletter management without a hosted email marketing platform. It lets operators manage subscribers, lists, campaigns, tracking, and reports on their own infrastructure. It relies on external delivery services such as Amazon SES, Postmark, Sendgrid, Mailgun, and Mailjet.

Key capabilities

• SendPortal manages subscribers and lists, giving operators a central place to maintain audience records.
• The application supports email campaigns, allowing users to organize and send marketing messages.
• It includes message tracking and reports, so operators can review delivery and campaign activity.
• It supports multiple workspaces and domains, enabling one installation to separate different brands or clients.
• It integrates with Amazon SES, Postmark, Sendgrid, Mailgun, and Mailjet for email delivery.
• SendPortal Core can be added to an existing PHP or Laravel application that already handles user authentication.

Who uses it and how

• Self-hosting teams install SendPortal as a stand-alone application and use it to run newsletters and marketing campaigns on their own servers.
• Existing PHP or Laravel applications add SendPortal Core when they already manage user authentication but need subscriber, campaign, tracking, and reporting features.
• Marketing operators use the application to maintain audiences, prepare campaigns, and review tracking and reports from one workspace.
• Agencies or multi-brand teams use multiple workspaces and domains to keep separate client or product email programs inside one deployed system.

Getting started

Install SendPortal as a stand-alone application by following the installation guide, or add SendPortal Core to an existing application by following the package installation guide. SendPortal V3 requires PHP 8.2 or newer, Laravel 10 or newer, and MySQL 5.7 or newer, or PostgreSQL 9.4 or newer.

When to use it — and when not to

SendPortal suits teams that want self-hosted newsletter and campaign management and are prepared to operate a PHP and Laravel application with their own database and email delivery provider. It is less suitable for teams that want a fully managed service, because the application still requires hosting, database maintenance, and integration with a separate sending service. The project metadata lists 52 open issues, no contributors, and a last push in April 2024, so operators should weigh the maintenance risk before depending on it for production email marketing.