We all look forward to finding innovative ways for a free SMTP server for different types of transactional emails. Free SMTP is a big relief for all businesses.
For using these services we need to understand! What’s an SMTP server and why is it needed for the core transactional emails? You may have heard about SMTP server for the first time, it’s not something new and not very complicated either. It’s just you have heard about it for the first time, trust me!
In this post below we have mentioned everything about SMTP services. You can easily get to know about them and choose the one that suits your needs.
What is an SMTP Server and Why do we need it?
It stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, a TCP/IP protocol used by professional and free SMTP servers to send, receive messages for professional purposes. Still, many would question why we need SMTP servers to send emails when we have free services. The problem is we need an SMTP server for transactional messages to reach the recipients’ inboxes. To achieve that we need a digital mail carrier.
When we send mail to someone through the post, we choose a reliable mailing service. Let’s say we choose a smart mailing service that not just delivers our mails but also acts if something suspicious pops up. That’s what SMTP servers do for sending and receiving emails.
We have shown an example below to justify the situation.
So let’s see if there’s anything else that is done by SMTP servers other than just proofing emails. There are two types of SMTP servers –free and paid. Do free SMTP servers serve the needs or do we need premium SMTP servers to be on the safe side?
Why Is a Free SMTP Server Not Enough?
We know WordPress sends emails by default for the transactions through PHP mail causes different types of issues. Therefore, at least using a Free SMTP Server is a better solution. We need to understand that a free SMTP service is good as long as your business is new and you don’t have much budget.
You can do the following for that:
We can use a free plan for a select number of emails to be sent or when not hundreds of emails need to be sent immediately. However, as the business grows, you’ll soon realize that you need to send more official messages and they need to be without problems.
For instance, if we use Google’s free SMTP relay server, they allow only 500 emails per 24 hours. For more than that, we need to buy their premium service or an alternative.
At some point this number would look quite huge, as soon as your business grows this number will thin away, you will need to invest in premium email services for official correspondence. Besides, to continue your business you would need to communicate with the people connected to your business. There’s another big issue with the regular email services–spammers. It adds to the bad reputation whether you are sending or receiving emails. That’s why we see services these days to check spam folder if the email does not pop up in the main folder.
In a nutshell, if you are scaling your business and aiming at greater eCommerce growth you must have a trustworthy email partner– a premium SMTP server.
Why choose a Premium SMTP Server?
Honestly, the words like “paid” and “premium” come quite shocking to most of us. The truth is, if something sounds like this, it does not necessarily mean to be expensive. Besides, the business scalability can also improve by simply throwing some dollars for a reliable SMTP server.
Here is what a premium SMTP service can do for us:
- You can send tons of more transactional emails pretty easy
- The configuration is hassle free
- Provides with more security
- Speedy deliverability for targeted campaigns
- Spam and spoof free
- Email tracing and performance
Now that you have an idea of the pros and cons of having a free SMTP server and a premium SMTP relay service, let’s explore some of the best solutions.
Since, as now, we have come to realize the benefits of the SMTP server and the premium SMTP relay services. Let’s dig deep to explore the market and discover the best free paid SMTP services.
| Best Free SMTP Server Solution | Best Premium SMTP Server Solution | |
| Service Provider | Moosend | |
| Pricing | Free 14 Days | $9/Month Sign Up |
| Emails/month | 15,000 | Unlimited |
| Spam Free Servers | Yes | Yes |
| Dedicated Support | No | Yes |
| Reliability | Yes | Yes |
#1 Google
SMTP Server Type: Free
Email limit: 500 emails
Let’s see which SMTP service is one people are most familiar with? Google’s SMTP service is one of the most popular free options for those who want to send their first transactional emails. You can create a Gmail account and use it. Gmail is simplistic and minimalistic to keep communication intact. You can use its minimalistic interface. Despite being free it is very reliable and the emails don’t land in the spam folder.
While Google offers a free SMTP server, after the 14-day trial period you have to upgrade to a Google Workspace paid plan starting at $6/month. In that case, you can send up to 2000 emails per rolling 24-hour period.
Google allows free SMTP server and offers a 14-day free trial. Later you have to upgrade it to the premium package. You can use the custom domain name of your eCommerce business or website for sending bulk emails.
No doubt, Google’s most of the services are matchless so is gmail. But its free services are limited, not just Gmail alone but the whole G Suite package.
How to set up Google’s Free SMTP Server?
- Configure
- To configure SMTP settings through your Gmail or G Suite account you need to enable 2FA and create a password for the app.
- This will be used later on to verify your SMTP Server configuration.
- When you create the App password (See instructions here) you need to select Custom and set a name
2.Gmail app and device configuration
Once you are done with that. It’s easy to use SMTP server on your website or app by following these steps:
- Select SMTP Server: smtp.gmail.com
- Authentication: Yes
- Secure Connection: TLS or SSL
- Username: Use your gmail email address
- Password: You should use your App password here that we created earlier
- Port Number: Use 587 for TLS Authentication and 465 for SSL
#3 Smart Tip
This is the simple hack you can do by using Google’s SMTP Server.
For example if you are given a domain related website or business email given by the hosting service like GoDaddy. You can use Google SMTP Server for sending and receiving official emails by using that email address.
To do that:
Simply create another App Password like before. Then open Gmail Settings and click on Accounts.
Next click on Add another email address.
After that you will be redirected to this window where you should add the custom domain email address that you have.
Click on Next Step and now we will add Google’s SMTP Server Configuration Info.
You need to fill the form below:
- Add SMTP Server Name
- Choose the right port number which depends on your security protocol
- Gmail address or your user name
- The App Password we generated
- Security protocol
Next just Add Account and you are ready to go!
#2 Moosend
SMTP Server Type: Premium
Emails per month: Unlimited
Pricing: $9/month (You can see the pricing options here)
We talked a lot about Gmail premium services. But Moosend is some of the best and rules this domain and is the best email service so far. Once we sign up, we are given tools and curated templates that help make the emails look professional. It is natural to choose Moosend’s SMTP; the service specializes in email service.
Moosend SMTP server integration is rather simpler and allows one to integrate it with the website to send transactional emails in a split second. Once integrated you can easily send order and account confirmations, invoices, and password reset messages with sheer security. Besides, its analytics and tracking system lets you track everything regarding your communication.
Most secure feature of a relay server is that it keeps your IP encrypted. If you want to, you can sign up here immediately and begin your email marketing campaign or simply want to control your eCommerce business communication.
Here it’s explained how to use Moosend’s SMTP server with your app or website.
How to Find the Configuration Info
We need to log into Moosend’s in case of email automation. Click or hover on the Account on your dashboard then click the Settings from the drop-down. We have shown it in the image below.
In the Settings pane, click the Direct SMTP tab. Then enable “use SMTP.”
You can see the details to connect to the SMTP server. Moosend direct SMTP settings
Moosend’s SMTP Server Settings: Overview
You can see the details below:
- SMTP Server: smtp.mailendo.com
- Authentication: Yes
- Secure Connection: TLS
- Username: Moosend Account Name
- Password: Moosend Account Password
- Port Number: 25
If you want to connect your WordPress website with SMTP Server of Moosend see the instructions here:
#3 Amazon SES – Free SMTP Server
SMTP Server Type: Free
Emails per month: 62,000
Amazon SES or Amazon Simple Email Service offers cloud based SMTP server. You can connect the SMTP service and integrate it with Amazon with your email client or any app if you want to integrate. You can monitor all of your email campaigns and activities in detail as it comes with tons of features even for the free SMTP relay server.
Support and Service
They also offer support for the highly reliable authentication methods as well such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC etc. So if we sent any emails through Amazon’s SMTP servers the deliverability would not get affected at all.
Email Volume
They allow sending as many as 62,000 and receiving 1,000 per month free if the application is hosted in Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud). If you want or use it for any more email volume, Amazon will charge $0.10 for the next received 1,000 emails and also if you want to use a different client. No doubt, Amazon SES is one of the best SMTP relay services that are highly used for eCommerce or general purpose client handling. You can find more detailed information here.
#4 SMTP2GO
SMTP Server Type: Free
Emails per month: 1,000
If you are looking for a free SMTP relay server then SMTP2GO is one of a kind. You can send/receive emails, track everything and use its matchless deliverability as per excellence. The service is built on the high-end-tech that the emails get delivered even if the internet shuts down.
The service comes with sophisticated tools to track emails, analytics and spam regulation. The SMTP2GO free plan provides services to send 1,000 per month and five days of premium email reporting. These tools provided by SMTP2GO can go hand-in-hand for the traceability and high deliverability. You can also get 14 days of toll-free phone and live chat support.
All these features make SMTP2GO a highly reliable service for all types of businesses. You can easily reach out to your customers multiple ways.
Instruction manual to use SMTP2GO
- SMTP server: mail.smtp2go.com
- SMTP port: 2525 if it does not work use 80, 25, 8025 or 587.
- Username / Password: You need to turn on SMTP authentication and enter your account’s SMTP username and SMTP password.
- TLS/SSL are optional. For example you can use TLS on the same ports. While SSL on ports 465 and 8465.
Find out more here:
#5 Postmark
SMTP Server Type: Free
Emails per month: 100
You can use Postmark’s SMTP relay server for quickly sending transactional emails to your clients. They also provide quality tools at the sign up to complete your campaigns including responsive email templates. You can edit the templates that are already professionally designed, get fast email delivery and analytics monitoring. You can see the CTR of your emails.
However, Postmark provides limited free services that require a premium plan of $10 per month to send about 10,000 emails. If you want dedicated IPs you need to burn more funds. This is the cheapest email relay service that you can get along with security, efficiency and simple integration with apps and websites.
Follow the instructions below to set up your Postmark’s with WordPress:
- You need to download the Postmark WordPress plugin.
- Upload postmark directory to your /wp-content/plugins directory.
- Then activate the plugin from the WordPress plugin panel.
- From your WordPress dashboard go to Settings > Postmark.
- Then add the Postmark details
- Verify sending by entering the recipient’s email address and send the first “Send Test Email”
- Once verified, then check “Enable” to override wp_mail and send using Postmark instead
Follow more instructions here
#6 SocketLabs
SMTP Server Type: Free
Emails per month: 2,000
SocketLabs is one more free SMTP relay server that the eCommerce community loves. It is used for sending tons of transactional emails with the highest deliverability rate. You can send timely emails. For your new IT business and highest delivery rate, SocketLabs is the best service.
Its free plan allows users to send around 2,000/month which is a huge development from our previous offerings. Besides, SocketLabs’ hosted SMTP service emails will never be in the spam folder. You can access all the analytics in real time about deliveries, you can integrate its APIs in the analytics for the apps. It’s cloud SMTP servers also support DKIM signing, SPF and ISP traffic.
Find out more here.
Follow this guide for using it with WordPress
#7 Mailchimp Transactional Email
SMTP Server Type: Premium
Emails per month: 1-500k
Pricing: $20/block per month
Mailchimp is probably the most popular platform for Transactional Email services. It was formerly called Mandrill. It is a paid service. Mailchimp is an add-on service that provides a transactional email service that can be used as an SMTP email server. It provides a demo service to automate the emails for free but it does not have a free plan. This demo allows only 500 emails.
The Mailchimp Transactional Email comes with the price structure of the block system with a credit of 25,000 emails. You cannot buy a package any lower than this block system.
The premium package includes detailed analytics, infrastructure, dedicated IP address and automatic loop registration. The Mailchimp SMTP server is ideal for the new developers with the highest delivery rate and custom delivery.
To set up Mailchimp follow this guide:
#8 Pepipost
SMTP Server Type: Free
Emails per month: 30,000 for first 30 days
The next big SMTP server for free on our list is Pepipost. We can send free transactional or marketing campaign emails in bulk about 30,000 for the first 30 days. Once that number is reached you can still send around 100 free emails every day. It helps keep track of emails sent by the developers and marketers that’s why Pepipost is liked by them. It also comes with AI tools, smart analytics, deliverability and also traps spam. You can use Pepipost’s SMTP service and keep track of its 90-day history log to optimize transactional strategy. You can connect your app or service or even a WordPress platform.
So for delivering emails in bulk with incredible deliverability you can always rely on Pepipost.
Follow this guide for WordPress integration:
#9 Mailgun
SMTP Server Type: Free
Emails per month: 5,000/month
Mailgun is our last highly recommended free SMTP relay service that offers 5,000 free emails for the first 3 months. Mailgun lets users send transactional emails. Once the trial period is over you will be charged $0.80 per 1,000 emails, you can easily integrate your WordPress site or apps as it offers tons of high-tech tools for that such as validators, inbox tracking and documentation.
Mailgun seems to lack some crucial features that we discussed before. Mailgun’s SMTP relay service has some unique tools that lets you know every small detail about the emails. Follow this guide to integrate WordPress site with Mailgun:
Conclusion
We always prefer free SMTP relay services as compared to the paid services. If your business is growing and you should go for the premium SMTP servers which lets you deliver more emails with great features and latest high-tech tools.