As the popular saying goes, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”. Well, generally, you might expect to get a morsel at no expense. But while the very idea of getting a valuable service for free is inherently appealing, the caveat is that you have to put double effort into knowing what you are looking for and what you’ll really get if you hope to avoid major disappointment. This article will offer a few insights into finding a free SMTP service that you won’t regret choosing.

What is an SMTP service

An SMTP server is a computer which is responsible for delivering emails you create using your email client program. When offered as a service, SMTP servers take on more demanding tasks. Dedicated mail services send marketing messages in large volumes and deliver transactional emails in mere seconds while maintaining excellent delivery rates and fail-safe operation.

What are free mailing services good for

There are basically two flavors of SMTP service plans which may be offered at no cost. The first one is targeted at those who are intending to use a regular paid plan but would like to have a grace period for the time they are integrating the service with their own system. 

For really complex cases, integration and testing may require quite some time, up to a few months. To complete the integration, you need full-featured access, but sending a substantial number of messages is usually not required. Your mailings may even be limited to a target domain that you own yourself, which is sufficient for testing and nothing more. As a typical example, we could name Mandrill (which is now an integral part of the MailChimp email service).

Another type of service is aimed at prospective customers, allowing them to try the features for free before considering a paid option. In this case, target domains are never restricted; however, numerous other restrictions may (and surely will) apply.

Firstly, the number of messages you may send per month is limited to several thousand at max (daily or hourly limits may be set as well). The period of free access itself may also be limited to a few months. Finally, a free plan is often limited in functionality, meaning certain features may not be available at all, available only partially or require a separate payment. Examples of such services include SendGrid, Brevo, Netcore, UniOne, and many others.

Things to consider

If your demands fall into the first category (you may call it an integration testing plan), you probably don’t even need our advice. Just keep an eye on the subtle differences between the test option and regular plans which may potentially require additional tweaking. It should be also noted that this option may not allow for proper load tests, and you’ll have to negotiate if you need those.

For the second type, you’ll be facing a tough choice. There are literally hundreds of SMTP services on the market, and nearly all of them offer some kind of free plan. The first thing you need to do is to prepare a list of questions you’ll use to evaluate an SMTP relay service. Use the following list as a template.

• What are the sending limits (both monthly and daily, if applicable)?
• If speed limits apply, what are they?
• Is the free plan duration limited?
• Are there any restrictions on sender and target domains?
• Does the service add its own advert to your letters (which is quite common)?
• Which critical features (statistics, data export, complaints and subscription management etc.) are missing in the free plan?

Be sure to include things that are most important in your particular case. With the list ready, you’ll have to browse through your preferred SMTP service sites, taking notes to make a comparison table.

Sounds boring, right? Luckily, you can just take a look at a comparison of a few popular SMTP relay services offering free plans as of 2023. Even if you’d like to consider a larger number of options, this article will give you some examples of what’s good for you and what’s not.

Conclusion

Looking for the best free SMTP service option may be tedious, but the reward is worth the effort. For better results, use our advice above.