Email Marketing in OpenCart: Free Mailings Even with Strict Hosting Limits

Have you ever received emails from online stores where you bought something or registered?

I have. And even if the email is not opened, it makes me remember the store. And if I have an unfinished order there, an interesting product in the cart, or I just remembered something I wanted - I come back. This has happened to me more than once.

Email marketing works even when it is not read.

And it is one of the cheapest acquisition channels.

❗The Main Problem of OpenCart on Regular Hosting

On shared hosting, there are almost always strict limits on sending emails.

For example:

• 200 emails per hour
• or 1500 emails per day

What happens if you try to send 5000 emails through the standard OpenCart mailing?

Correct: the first 200 go through, the remaining 4800 simply disappear.

No email queue, no error, no retry. Emails are lost forever. And you won't even know about it.

✅ There are 4 Ways to Solve the Problem

1️⃣ Stay on Shared Hosting (Our Extensions)

2️⃣ Use an Email Marketing Platform (for example, Mailchimp)

3️⃣ Use an Email Delivery Service (for example, Mailgun (SMTP or API))

4️⃣ Switch to VPS

Let's analyze each one.

1️⃣ Solution - Our Extensions (Free After Installation)

You can stay on shared hosting, not switch to paid services like Mailchimp, and at the same time send mailings without losses.

To do this, you need to solve two tasks:

• Not to lose emails beyond the limit (queue + time limit)
• Not to keep the browser tab open for hours

Standard OpenCart cannot do this. But our Extensions can.

Four Extensions from Partneris.lv That You Need

Extension No.1 - Marketing Mail Sending Limit
Puts all emails in a queue and sends them exactly according to your hosting limit (for example, 200 per hour). The rest of the emails wait their turn.
Important: the browser tab can be closed. Emails continue to be sent in the background.

Extension No.2 - Marketing Mail for Unregistered Users + Journal Fix
Standard OpenCart cannot send emails to those who bought a product without registration. And this is often half of your customers. Our Extension solves this problem and additionally contains an important Journal Fix.

Now Journal theme owners can send mailings simultaneously both to the regular OpenCart customer list and to the Journal subscribers database.

Extension No.3 - Fix Email Sending Errors – Skip Invalid Emails
If an incorrect email (typo, non-existent domain) appears in the recipient list, standard OpenCart stops the entire mailing. Our module simply skips the erroneous address and continues sending.

Extension No.4 - Newsletter Unsubscribe
A mandatory function by law and an important factor for email deliverability.

Most spam filters specifically check for the presence of an "unsubscribe" link in the email. If it is missing, the spam score increases significantly, and emails more often end up in spam.

Our Extension automatically adds a correct "Unsubscribe" link to each email, which helps:

• Comply with legal requirements
• Maintain a good sender reputation
• Improve mailing deliverability

2️⃣ Solution - Mailchimp (or analogues)

A platform where you prepare emails in a beautiful interface, and it sends them from its servers.

How to connect to OpenCart:
You need an Extension that synchronizes contacts from the store with Mailchimp.

Pros:

• No need to keep the tab open
• Beautiful templates and convenient editor
• Mailchimp itself takes care of IP reputation
• Built-in statistics

Cons:

• Monthly fee (free plan - up to 500 contacts (as of June 2026), this is almost always not enough)
• A separate Extension for synchronization is needed

When to choose: if you are ready to pay every month for convenience and do not want to delve into technical details.

3️⃣ Solution - Mailgun (SMTP or API)

Mailgun is an email delivery service. Your OpenCart connects to Mailgun via SMTP or API.

Two connection options:

• Via SMTP - no Extension needed, works "out of the box", but you need to keep the tab open
• Via API - a Extension is needed, but sending is faster

Pros:

• Free limit (first 100 emails per day)
• Good deliverability
• No need to worry about IP

Cons:

• When sending via Marketing > Mail, the tab needs to be kept open for hours if the mailing is for several thousand users
• After exceeding the free limit - monthly fee

When to choose: for a small list (up to 100 emails per day) / if you are ready to either keep the tab open or buy the API module.

4️⃣ Solution - Switch to VPS

Also an option, but there are serious risks:

• Spam lists
  Your IP may end up there. You will have to pull it out yourself - write to support, fill out forms, sometimes wait for weeks.
• You also need to keep the tab open
  If you send via standard OpenCart - there is no escape.
• Server load
  Mass mailing can heavily load the server and lead to slowdown or unavailability of the site.
• Technical maintenance
  VPS often requires regular administration. This can result in additional costs for a specialist.

Conclusion: VPS is not a universal solution. It is only suitable if you are ready to invest time and resources in email infrastructure or have an experienced administrator. For most stores, this is really more of a headache than a panacea.

Cheat Sheet: What to Choose?

Summary

Free email marketing in OpenCart is real.

But there are different paths:

• Mailchimp - convenient, but expensive in the long run
• Mailgun - good at the start, but requires keeping the tab open or buying an API module + expensive in the long term
• VPS - for enthusiasts with time to spare
• Our Extension - pay once and forget

For most stores, our Extensions are optimal:

• queue (so as not to lose emails)
• ignore errors (so the mailing does not stop)
• unsubscribe (so as not to end up in spam)

You stay on your hosting - without additional monthly payments.

Think about it. Your customers still forget about the store. And one email per month is a cheap and working way to remind about yourself.

✉️ If you need help with setup or don't want to do it yourself - write to us, we'll help!