MailHook

MailHook is a newsletter sending system developed in Hungary, sold as a cloud service to businesses that want to send newsletters to their own subscriber lists. The homepage describes it as "magyar fejlesztésű hírlevélküldő rendszer" (a Hungarian-developed newsletter system) that lets a customer send professional newsletters to several thousand subscribers in a few clicks, including in scheduled newsletter sequences. The interface is in Hungarian, prices are in Hungarian forints, and the company's office is at 1085 Budapest, József Krt. 36. Its customers, going by the testimonials on the site, are small and mid-size Hungarian businesses: a consulting firm and an online lighting shop both speak for it.

The pitch rests on three points at the top of the homepage: unlimited sending ("Korlátlan hírlevélküldés"), simple and quick use, and no installation. The site says a new customer can send a first newsletter within 5 minutes of registering, from any browser on any device, and that the company handles installation and operation itself, so no webmaster is needed.

What a sender gets

Lists and subscribers. Subscribers are organized into mailing lists, and a customer can create as many lists as it wants. Each list can have its own profile, which customizes every system message the subscriber sees: the confirmation shown on signup, on unsubscribing and on confirming an unsubscribe. Lists can be filled in bulk by importing a CSV file, with one condition the site spells out: the customer has to declare that the imported addresses come from a legal source and not from a purchased list.

Signup forms. A signup form for any list takes a single click to generate and can be pasted straight into the customer's website, so visitors who sign up land in the list at once. The forms carry built-in spam protection: only a form displayed in a browser can be submitted, which stops bots from filling a list with junk addresses.

The editor and media library. Newsletters are put together in the MailHook editor, and images are stored in a built-in media library. On request the company wraps every newsletter a customer sends in an HTML frame, giving the mailings a consistent look. Newsletters can be personalized with the subscriber's name data, so each message can greet the recipient by name. The site also lists attachments as a feature.

Scheduling and sequences. Both one-off newsletters and sequences can be scheduled to the minute: a sender picks the day, hour and minute a message goes out. The sequence feature, "hírlevélfolyam", is MailHook's automation. A customer sets up a series of pre-timed newsletters that the system sends automatically, in order, after a person subscribes, which is how a welcome or sales series runs without anyone pressing send.

Sending and deliverability. Customers who asked to send through their own SMTP server can now do so; the homepage says "Kértétek, megcsináltuk" (you asked, we built it). A domain check helps keep mail out of spam folders: when someone sends from their own domain, such as a newsletter address on the company domain, MailHook checks the domain's SPF setting, and the site warns that without it most of the mail lands in spam or never arrives. The homepage says the system is built for good deliverability and for lawful sending that meets the GDPR, and a blog post from March 2024 is titled "A MailHook megfelel a Gmail szigorú feltételeinek is" (MailHook also meets Gmail's strict requirements).

Reporting. After each send the statistics show opens and clicks. One chart plots how many emails went out on a given day and how many were opened. Click tracking counts every link in a newsletter and shows two graphs, total clicks on a link and how popular each link was relative to the others. A separate graph tracks how many people unsubscribed on a given day through the unsubscribe link in a newsletter.

The site also runs a long Hungarian blog series on professional newsletter writing, covering subject lines, responsive layout, fonts, images, GDPR, the Robinson list, list management, timing and testing.

Packages and prices

MailHook publishes its prices. There are four monthly packages, chosen by subscriber count and media storage, and every one allows unlimited lists and unlimited newsletters:

• Induló (starter): 4,700 Ft a month net (5,969 Ft gross), 1 user, 2,000 subscribers, 100 MB media library, extra storage at 400 Ft a month per 100 MB.
• Haladó (advanced): 6,700 Ft a month net (8,509 Ft gross), 2 users, 5,000 subscribers, 200 MB, extra storage at 300 Ft per 100 MB.
• Marketing: 8,700 Ft a month net (11,049 Ft gross), 10 users, 10,000 subscribers, 300 MB, extra storage at 200 Ft per 100 MB.
• MAXI: 14,700 Ft a month net (18,669 Ft gross), 10 users, 20,000 subscribers, 300 MB, extra storage at 200 Ft per 100 MB.

The unlimited newsletter allowance carries an asterisk: if one user loads the servers far out of proportion, MailHook will propose a custom-priced package instead. Above MAXI sits the Egyedi (custom) package, quoted on request, for 10 or more users and 10,000 or more subscribers, with unlimited lists and newsletters, a 500 MB media library, storage expansion at 200 Ft a month, email and phone help, one hour of remote desktop assistance, and an optional 24/7 phone on-call service for 36,000 Ft a month. The quote form asks for the maximum number of addresses and how many times a month the customer plans to send.

The page notes that free registration has been temporarily suspended, so there is no free plan or free sign-up at present.

Billing terms are plain. There is no lock-in contract: the "Fizess amíg használod" (pay while you use it) section says a customer pays only while using the service and can cancel at any time. Prices are in Hungarian forints and invoices can be paid by bank card or bank transfer. The site names Barion and Stripe as its card processors, and a card payment is followed by the invoice by email and immediate access to the ordered service. The payment terms add that a payment "15 napnál nagyobb késedelembe" (more than fifteen days late) can get the newsletter service restricted, and that "Több mint 30 napos késedelem" (a delay of more than thirty days) allows the contract to be terminated. A price freeze rewards loyalty: existing customers keep last year's price, and a customer who signs this year keeps this year's price next year.

Support and compliance

Every package includes help by email, and the homepage says the higher packages add phone help. The phone line is staffed on working days from 8:30 to 16:30, and the site stresses that a colleague will pick up and help solve the problem. The company also invites customers to suggest features and says good ideas get built in.

On data protection, the site says the system switched to GDPR-compatible operation after 25 May 2018, and its blog explains consent, data security, the right to unsubscribe and data processing agreements for Hungarian senders.

Who it suits

MailHook suits a Hungarian small or mid-size business that wants a newsletter tool in its own language, priced in forints, with a person on the phone during office hours. A shop or service firm with a list of a few thousand subscribers can start on Induló or Haladó for a known monthly fee, send as many newsletters as it likes, and run a welcome sequence through the sequence feature. Teams of up to 10 people fit Marketing or MAXI, and larger organizations get a custom package with remote help and round-the-clock phone cover.

The limits follow from the focus. MailHook is a newsletter tool: lists, forms, scheduling, sequences and reports, without a long list of other channels. The interface and support are Hungarian, which is the point for its market and a hurdle for anyone else. And with free registration paused, a new customer starts on a paid package.