MailCheap
An open-source newsletter platform where you pay for the emails you send, not for dormant subscribers.
What it is
Marc Lou built his own Beehiiv replacement after a price rise, open-sourced it, then launched it as a hosted product with a post quoting Beehiiv co-founder and CEO Tyler Denk's list of what vibe-coded alternatives would need.
How it was built with AI
Lou posted that he "vibe-coded" his own newsletter platform and that "it took a few prompts with Opus 5.5", then launched MailCheap as "I vibe-coded beehiiv, and it's 83% cheaper."
Traction
Self-reported$653 MRR from 27 active subscriptions a week after launch, per its TrustMRR listing (Stripe-connected, but TrustMRR is the founder's own platform)
As of Oct 22, 2026. Stated by the founder or the tool maker. Not independently verified. Read the source
Sources
- Marc Lou: "I vibe-coded beehiiv, and it's 83% cheaper"X (@marclou) · Oct 15, 2026 · checked Oct 22, 2026
- Marc Lou: "Bye bye Beehiiv, I vibe-coded my own newsletter platform"X (@marclou) · Oct 9, 2026 · checked Oct 22, 2026
- marclou/mailcheapGitHub · checked Oct 22, 2026
- MailCheap on TrustMRRTrustMRR · checked Oct 22, 2026
- Tyler Denk (Beehiiv co-founder and CEO) on vibe-coded Beehiiv alternativesX (@denk_tweets) · Oct 14, 2026 · checked Oct 22, 2026