If you want to send 1~10 emails per day to your friends or colleagues, your own host/server SMTP will do the job perfectly. But the case is different if you are going to send 1000 emails per day. If you use your own SMTP, there is a high chance of IP blacklisting and all your emails will land in spam folder. This is why the bulk SMTP servers are created. They are built to deliver large number of emails without the risk of blacklisting.
In case you want to deliver a huge number of emails per day (for instance 50K per day), free SMTP providers are not a good choice, because a reputable ESP usually provides a small number of free credits per day or month. It is better for you to switch to a paid service.
I think you now are asking, what is the difference between SMTP servers? Absolutely, the most important factor is deliverability. It means the power of inboxing your emails which is directly depending on their IP reputation. The second important factor is delivery speed. Assume you are going to send a “reset password” link. It is better to deliver the email as soon as possible.
We tried to make it easy for you to make a decision. We have compared 10 most reputable SMTP providers offering free plans. Let’s begin.
1. Mailjet
Mailjet is an email marketing company based in Paris providing both Bulk and Transactional emails. They have more than 130K customers in 150 countries. If you want to choose them, you must know that their inboxing is great, but it is a bit hard for you to pass their initial evaluation. They have strict rules and if your sending history does not meet their standards, there is no chance for you to use their services.
Features
- Unlimited Contacts
- APIs, SMTP Relay, Webhooks
- Advanced Email Editor
- Advanced Statistics
SMTP Limits
This free SMTP provider has a limit of 6,000 emails per month and 200 emails per day.
2. Pepipost
Pepipost is an email marketing company based in India. There is something interesting with their platform. They do not charge you for the emails you recipients open. This is really interesting and I think their pricing model will help them to attract more customers. Like Mailjet, they provide both bulk and SMTP (and API) services.
Features
- SMTP
- Email API
- Artificial Intelligence
- Email Marketing
- Webhooks
- Subaccount Management
SMTP Limits
You can send up to 30K Emails free for first 30 days, then 100/day free, forever.
3. Yespo
Yespo is an omni-channel marketing platform which provides Email Campaigns, SMS Campaigns, Viber Campaigns, Web Push Notifications, and Mobile Push Notifications all in one platform. eSputnik does not offer SMTP, but you can send email campaigns using their web-based marketing platform.
Features
- High inbox rate
- Email Tracking and Analytics
- Drag-and-Drop Email Editor
- Artificial Intelligence
- Geo-Marketing
- Advanced Segmentation
- Multilingual Campaigns
- API Integration
- Product Recommendations for Website Visitors
Sending Limits
After a sign-up, you receive 2,500 emails and 10 SMS to test the service. Also, you can send unlimited emails to up to 500 contacts, free forever.
4. Mailgun
Mailgun is an email service for developers. Their main focus is on Transactional emails. However, you can send bulk emails too. They have more than 150K active customers from all around the world. There is one interesting feature they offer and I think you have not heard it before. They can send more than 1,200,000 emails in only one minute. If you are in hurry to deliver a tremendous number of emails, Mailgun is the best option.
Features
- Email APIs, SMTP Relay, and Webhooks
- Suppression Management
- Email Tracking and Analytics
- 99.99% Guaranteed Uptime SLA
- 5 Days of Log Retention
- Detailed Documentation
- Limited 24/7 Ticket Support
SMTP Limits
You can send 5,000 free emails per month for 3 months, then only pay for what you send.
5. Gmail
I think you already heard about Gmail 🙂 (Everyone does). Gmail is a wonderful free SMTP provider which allows you to send up to 500 free emails per day. Obviously, your emails will be send from a @gmail.com address, not your website domain and this is the main difference with the other free SMTP providers. But Gmail guarantees ~100% inbox rate.
Features
- SMTP
- Very high inbox rate
- Completely free
SMTP Limits
You can send 500 free emails per day.
6. SendGrid
SendGrid is between top 5 companies in email marketing. Recently, their company have merged with Twilio and has added some more features for its customers. Their SMTP delivers the emails very fast and it is a very good choice for customers that want to deliver the transactional emails in less than 5 seconds.
Features
- APIs, SMTP Relay, and Webhooks
- Delivery Optimization Tools
- Dynamic Template Editor
- Insightful Analytics
- Ticket Support
SMTP Limits
You can send 40,000 emails for 30 days, then 100/day forever.
7. SendPulse
SendPulse is a Multi-Channel Marketing Platform that offers many services like Bulk email, transactional emails, SMS, push notifications, chat bots and more.
Features
- API
- SMTP Relay Dynamic
- Insightful Analytics
SMTP Limits
You can send 12,000 free emails per month and 50 emails per hour.
8. Sender.net
Sender.net is a wonderful tool providing a high deliverability email marketing platform. It also provides a completely free push notification service. Sender empowers you to quickly and easily keep in touch with your customers and grow your business - while spending much less.
Features
- High Deliverability
- GDPR Compliant
- Unlimited users
- Subscription forms
- Web-push notifications
- Mobile responsive templates
- No long-term commitments
SMTP Limits
Up to 2,500 subscribers, Up to 15,000 emails/month, All features included. No credit card required and cancel anytime.
9. Sendinblue
Sendinblue is a SaaS internet company which offers Email, SMS, Facebook, Chat, CRM, and more, all-in-one platform to help you grow your business through building stronger customer relationships. In recent years, their company becomes popular among ESPs and based on their website, they have ~80K customers around the world. In email marketing section, they provide both bulk email service and transactional emails.
Features
- Unlimited contacts
- Mobile-friendly email designer
- Email template library
- Email & SMS personalization
- SMS marketing
- Unlimited contacts & details
- Advanced segmentation
- Customizable signup forms
- Sales CRM
- ChatTransactional email and SMS sending
- Core API features
- Advanced templating language
- Workflow editor
- Page tracking
- Real-time reporting
- API & plugins
- Email support
SMTP Limits
You can send 300 emails per day and 9000 emails per month. You may also check SMTP server free to find your desired free SMTP provider.
