The short answer: the most generous free SMTP plans today are Sender.net (15,000 emails a month) and SendPulse (12,000 a month, 50 an hour). Mailjet (6,000 a month) and Resend (3,000 a month) are the best all-rounders, and Gmail (500 a day) is the easiest if you don’t have your own domain. SendGrid and Amazon SES, often listed as free, no longer have free plans.
Every figure below was checked on the provider’s own pricing or documentation page on October 26, 2026. Free plans change often, so follow the links before you commit.
Free SMTP servers compared
| Provider | Free emails | Rate limit | The catch | SMTP host |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sender.net | 15,000 / month | No daily cap listed | Sender branding on free emails; built for newsletters | Shown in your account |
| SendPulse | 12,000 / month | 50 per hour | You must authenticate your own domain before the free plan applies; emails over 1 MB are rejected | smtp-pulse.com |
| Mailjet | 6,000 / month | 200 per day | Mailjet logo added to free emails | in-v3.mailjet.com |
| Mailtrap | 4,000 / month | 150 per day | You can’t send until your domain is verified; 3 days of logs | live.smtp.mailtrap.io |
| Resend | 3,000 / month | 100 per day | Needs a verified domain to send to anyone; up to 3 domains on the free plan | smtp.resend.com |
| Elastic Email | 3,000 / month | 100 per day | Up to 1,000 contacts | smtp.elasticemail.com |
| Brevo | 300 / day | 300 per day | “Sent with Brevo” footer on free emails; Brevo approves new accounts before they can send | smtp-relay.brevo.com |
| Gmail | 500 / day | 500 per day | Needs 2-Step Verification and an App Password; counts recipients, not messages; sends from your Gmail address | smtp.gmail.com |
| SMTP2GO | 1,000 / month | 200 per day | Sign-up rejects Gmail and Yahoo addresses, so you need your own domain | mail.smtp2go.com |
| MailerSend | 500 / month | — | Credit card required to sign up; 1 domain, 1 SMTP user | smtp.mailersend.net |
| Mailgun | 100 / day | 100 per day | 1 custom domain, 1 user, 1 day of logs | smtp.mailgun.org |
| Postmark | 100 / month | — | Developer plan with no overages; it never expires and needs no card | smtp.postmarkapp.com |
Which one should you pick?
- Contact form, no domain: Gmail. Your existing Gmail account, an App Password, and 500 emails a day.
- Transactional email from your domain: Resend or Mailjet. Generous limits and clean SMTP setup.
- Most free volume: Sender.net or SendPulse, if branding or a 50-per-hour pace is acceptable.
- Daily drip with no monthly cap: Brevo, 300 a day.
The free plans in detail
Sender.net: 15,000 / month
Best for: The biggest free monthly volume. Sender branding on free emails; built for newsletters.
| Free allowance | 15,000 / month, no daily cap listed |
| SMTP host | Shown in your account’s SMTP settings |
| Ports | 587 or 2525 (TLS) |
| Source | Sender.net pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
SendPulse: 12,000 / month
Best for: High monthly volume, sent slowly. You must authenticate your own domain before the free plan applies; emails over 1 MB are rejected.
| Free allowance | 12,000 / month, 50 per hour |
| SMTP host | smtp-pulse.com |
| Ports | 465 (SSL), 587 or 2525 |
| Source | SendPulse pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
Mailjet: 6,000 / month
Best for: A balanced all-rounder. Mailjet logo added to free emails.
| Free allowance | 6,000 / month, 200 per day |
| SMTP host | in-v3.mailjet.com |
| Ports | 587, 465 (SSL) or 2525 |
| Source | Mailjet pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
Mailtrap: 4,000 / month
Best for: Developers with their own domain. You can’t send until your domain is verified; 3 days of logs.
| Free allowance | 4,000 / month, 150 per day |
| SMTP host | live.smtp.mailtrap.io |
| Ports | 587 |
| Source | Mailtrap pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
Resend: 3,000 / month
Best for: Developer-friendly transactional email. Needs a verified domain to send to anyone; up to 3 domains on the free plan.
| Free allowance | 3,000 / month, 100 per day |
| SMTP host | smtp.resend.com |
| Ports | 465 (SSL) or 587 |
| Source | Resend pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
Use Resend SMTP for a website contact form
Elastic Email: 3,000 / month
Best for: Simple transactional sending. Up to 1,000 contacts.
| Free allowance | 3,000 / month, 100 per day |
| SMTP host | smtp.elasticemail.com |
| Ports | 587, 2525 or 465 |
| Source | Elastic Email pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
Brevo: 300 / day
Best for: Steady daily sending with no monthly cap. “Sent with Brevo” footer on free emails; Brevo approves new accounts before they can send.
| Free allowance | 300 / day |
| SMTP host | smtp-relay.brevo.com |
| Ports | 587, 465 (SSL) or 2525 |
| Source | Brevo pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
Use Brevo SMTP for a website contact form
Gmail: 500 / day
Best for: A contact form with no domain at all. Needs 2-Step Verification and an App Password; counts recipients, not messages; sends from your Gmail address.
| Free allowance | 500 / day |
| SMTP host | smtp.gmail.com |
| Ports | 465 (SSL) or 587 |
| Source | Gmail pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
Use Gmail SMTP for a website contact form
SMTP2GO: 1,000 / month
Best for: Low volume with detailed reports. Sign-up rejects Gmail and Yahoo addresses, so you need your own domain.
| Free allowance | 1,000 / month, 200 per day |
| SMTP host | mail.smtp2go.com |
| Ports | 2525, 587 or 465 (SSL) |
| Source | SMTP2GO pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
MailerSend: 500 / month
Best for: Trying a full transactional platform. Credit card required to sign up; 1 domain, 1 SMTP user.
| Free allowance | 500 / month |
| SMTP host | smtp.mailersend.net |
| Ports | 587 |
| Source | MailerSend pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
Mailgun: 100 / day
Best for: Testing Mailgun before paying. 1 custom domain, 1 user, 1 day of logs.
| Free allowance | 100 / day |
| SMTP host | smtp.mailgun.org |
| Ports | 587, 465 (SSL) or 2525 |
| Source | Mailgun pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
Use Mailgun SMTP for a website contact form
Postmark: 100 / month
Best for: Evaluating Postmark’s deliverability. Developer plan with no overages; it never expires and needs no card.
| Free allowance | 100 / month |
| SMTP host | smtp.postmarkapp.com |
| Ports | 587 or 2525 |
| Source | Postmark pricing page, checked October 26, 2026 |
Often listed as free, but aren’t
| Twilio SendGrid | No free plan any more. New accounts get a 60-day trial at 100 emails a day, and sending stops when it ends unless you pay. Source · setup guide |
| Amazon SES | No SES-specific free tier any more: new AWS customers get AWS Free Tier credits that can be spent on SES. New accounts also start in a sandbox that only sends to verified addresses, 200 a day. Source · setup guide |
| Zoho ZeptoMail | A one-time free credit (one credit is 10,000 emails) rather than a monthly plan, and you must verify your own domain. Check how long the signup credit stays valid. Source |
| Zoho Mail Forever Free | Free mailboxes on your domain, but IMAP, POP and SMTP aren’t included, so apps and websites can’t send through it. Paid Zoho Mail plans include SMTP. Source · setup guide |
| Outlook.com / Hotmail | Microsoft requires OAuth sign-in for Outlook.com, so tools that log in to SMTP with a password can’t use it. Source · setup guide |
How to choose a free SMTP server
- Do you have your own domain? Without one, use your mailbox’s SMTP (Gmail). Most sending services want a domain you can add DNS records to.
- Daily or monthly limits? A 3,000-a-month plan capped at 100 a day can’t send a 500-person announcement in one go. Check both numbers.
- Branding. Brevo, Mailjet and Sender.net add their name or logo to free emails. That’s fine for notifications, less so for customer-facing mail.
- Deliverability setup. Whichever you choose, add its SPF and DKIM records to your domain. That matters more than which provider you pick.
Use a free SMTP server on your website
A static website can’t talk to an SMTP server by itself, and you should never put an SMTP password in front-end code. FormSMTP connects to any of the servers above, keeps the login encrypted, and gives your site a form endpoint and an email API instead. Forms then email you from your own address, through the free SMTP plan you picked. FormSMTP itself is free for 1,000 emails a month.
New to this? Read how form SMTP works, or grab the exact host and port for your provider on the SMTP settings page.
FAQ
What is the best free SMTP server?
For a website contact form with no domain, Gmail (500 a day with an App Password). For transactional email from your own domain, Resend (3,000 a month) or Mailjet (6,000 a month). For the most free volume, Sender.net (15,000 a month) or SendPulse (12,000 a month, 50 an hour).
Is there a free SMTP server without authentication?
Not a trustworthy one. A server that relays mail without a login (an open relay) is abused by spammers within hours and ends up on blocklists, so its mail goes to spam. Every legitimate provider requires a username and password or an API key.
Which free SMTP servers don’t need my own domain?
Gmail sends from your Gmail address with no domain. Most sending services (SMTP2GO, SendPulse, Mailtrap, ZeptoMail and others) require you to verify a domain you own before you can send freely.
Is SendGrid still free?
No. Twilio SendGrid replaced its free plan with a 60-day trial at 100 emails a day for new accounts.
Does Amazon SES have a free tier?
Not a dedicated one any more. New AWS customers can spend AWS Free Tier credits on SES, and new SES accounts start in a sandbox limited to verified recipients and 200 emails a day.
Can I use a free SMTP server for my website’s contact form?
Yes. Static sites can’t talk SMTP directly, so connect the SMTP account to a form endpoint like FormSMTP, which sends each submission through it.