If you’ve been tinkering with Mautic’s email editor lately, you might have noticed it’s… less than perfect. A recent thread on the Mautic community forum dives straight into this with a brutally honest question: Do people really use the built-in editor for emails?
The poster was running Mautic 7.1.1 with PHP 8.x and MariaDB, complaining that the MJML editor feels terrible to use. Worse, the code mode lost the handy preview feature seen in Mautic 4.x, making it hard to see your HTML work in real time. This pain point resonated enough that folks jumped in to share how they build and maintain professional newsletters with Mautic—or avoid the built-in editor entirely.
Here’s the gist: The built-in MJML editor is seen by many as clunky and not quite there for serious email marketers who want pixel-perfect newsletters. The missing preview in code mode is another sore spot. From the replies, the consensus seems to lean towards using external tools like dedicated email builders or design software to craft emails. Then, marketers import the finished HTML into Mautic. This might feel like extra work initially, but it pays off with more control, better design fidelity, and fewer surprises once the email hits inboxes.
Now, you might wonder if this is just a personal gripe or something recognized by the dev community. While a quick look at GitHub issues didn’t reveal an active fix or update for improving MJML preview mode or the code editor, the topic’s visibility signals it’s a candidate for improvement. It also tells us that if you rely heavily on Mautic’s email features, you should consider integrating external editors into your workflow or pushing for feature enhancements through community channels.
Here’s my take: If you’re serious about sending polished newsletters, don’t force yourself to wrestle with a limited built-in editor. Use what works for professional-level design—whether that’s MJML outside Mautic or drag-and-drop editors like BeeFree or Stripo, then paste your clean HTML back in. Mautic’s strength is automation and segmentation, not email design finesse. Own that division.
Want to see the full conversation and maybe chime in? Head over to the Mautic forum thread.
If managing email design headaches isn’t your thing, Mailertizer offers a hosted Mautic platform that handles the heavy lifting for you, with plugins and support for smoother email creation workflows—let us worry about the tech, you focus on your marketing.
