A diaphragm pump (10), in particular for use as a detergent dosage pump, comprises a pump housing (12) with at least a first check valve (14) and a second check valve (16), a fluid chamber (18), a diaphragm (20) defining a wall of the fluid chamber (18) and reciprocatingly movable, a stepping motor (28) as driving means for reciprocating said diaphragm (20), wherein the stepping motor (28) comprises a controller (34) for actuating the stepping motor (28), and an external control unit (36) for operating the controller (34) of the stepping motor (28), wherein the external control unit (36) is connected to the controller (34) by a power supply line (38) for transmitting an operating signal (42, 46) to the controller (34), wherein the operating signal (42, 46) is a start signal for operating the diaphragm pump (10), in particular the stepping motor (28), at preset parameters. The diaphragm pump (10) according to the invention offers increased cost efficiency of the diaphragm pump (10) by integrating the power supply and the transfer of operating signals from the control unit (36) to the controller (34).