Mailtrap review (2026): pricing, limits, cold email fit, alternatives
Mailtrap is an email API and SMTP relay with a free 4,000-email plan, then $15 a month for 10,000 emails, and terms that bar unsolicited email. Verified prices.
Mailtrap at a glance
Facts checked Oct 6, 2026 on mailtrap.io
- Price
- From $15 per month for 10,000 emails on Basic; free plan 4,000 emails a month and 150 a day; the page advertises up to 20% off with annual billing
- Pricing model
- Four plans for the Email API/SMTP product, priced by monthly volume on a slider. Free: 4,000 emails a month, 150 a day, 1 user, 1 domain, 3 days of logs. Basic: $15 for 10,000, $20 for 50,000 or $30 for 100,000 emails, with 3 users, 5 domains, 5 days of logs, shared IPs and $1 per extra 1,000 emails. Business: $85 for 100,000, $200 for 250,000, $300 for 500,000 or $450 for 750,000, with 100 users, 100 domains, 15 days of logs, a dedicated IP with automatic warm-up, reputation monitoring and $0.88 per extra 1,000. Enterprise: $750 for 1.5 million, $1,250 for 2.5 million or custom, with unlimited users and domains, 30 days of logs, priority support and $0.55 per extra 1,000. The page advertises up to 20% off with annual billing. Email Sandbox and Email Marketing are sold separately, each with a free plan.
- Minimum order
- None; free plan
- Free trial
- Free plan: 4,000 emails a month, 150 a day, no card
- Billing
- Monthly or annual, charged on the first business day of each period, cancel any time; a refund can be requested within 30 days of the first purchase but not on renewals
- Setup time
- Minutes: add Mailtrap's DNS records to your domain, then send over SMTP or the API with SDKs for Python, PHP, Ruby, Node.js and Java
- DNS setup
- You add SPF, DKIM and DMARC records at your DNS host and Mailtrap verifies them
- IP location
- Shared IPs on Free and Basic; a dedicated IP on Business and Enterprise
- Warmup
- Automatic IP warm-up with the dedicated IP on Business and Enterprise; not offered on the shared IPs of Free and Basic
- Replacements
- Not applicable
- Domains
- Your own, verified by DNS: 1 on Free, 5 on Basic, 100 on Business, unlimited on Enterprise
- Integrations
- SMTP relay, REST API, SDKs for Python, PHP, Ruby, Node.js and Java, Webhooks, Inbound email, MCP server, Supabase, Vercel
Best for: Developers and SaaS teams sending transactional email, password resets, receipts and notifications, who want cheap plans, a free tier and good logs.
Not for: Cold email of any kind, or anyone who needs sending logs kept for more than a month.
Mailtrap pricing
Published prices as of Oct 6, 2026 from their pricing page. Prices change; check before you buy.
| Plan | Price | What you get | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 4,000 emails a month, 150 a day, 1 user, 1 domain, 3 days of logs, API and SMTP | No card |
| Basic | $15 a month | 10,000 emails; $20 for 50,000, $30 for 100,000; 3 users, 5 domains, 5 days of logs, shared IPs | Overage $1 per 1,000 emails; no dedicated IP |
| Business | $85 a month | 100,000 emails; $200 for 250,000, $300 for 500,000, $450 for 750,000; 100 users, 100 domains, 15 days of logs, dedicated IP with auto warm-up, reputation monitoring | Overage $0.88 per 1,000; best value per the page |
| Enterprise | $750 a month | 1.5 million emails; $1,250 for 2.5 million; custom above; unlimited users and domains, 30 days of logs, priority support | Overage $0.55 per 1,000; custom contracts and invoicing |
- Free$0
4,000 emails a month, 150 a day, 1 user, 1 domain, 3 days of logs, API and SMTP
No card
- Basic$15 a month
10,000 emails; $20 for 50,000, $30 for 100,000; 3 users, 5 domains, 5 days of logs, shared IPs
Overage $1 per 1,000 emails; no dedicated IP
- Business$85 a month
100,000 emails; $200 for 250,000, $300 for 500,000, $450 for 750,000; 100 users, 100 domains, 15 days of logs, dedicated IP with auto warm-up, reputation monitoring
Overage $0.88 per 1,000; best value per the page
- Enterprise$750 a month
1.5 million emails; $1,250 for 2.5 million; custom above; unlimited users and domains, 30 days of logs, priority support
Overage $0.55 per 1,000; custom contracts and invoicing
What Mailtrap does well
- A real free plan of 4,000 emails a month with API, SMTP, logs and analytics, and paid plans from $15 that undercut most transactional senders at low volume.
- Deliverability tooling from Business up: a dedicated IP with automatic warm-up, reputation monitoring, bounce categorisation, throttling and feedback-loop data from more than 20 mailbox providers.
- Engineering-grade basics: SDKs in the main languages, webhooks, hosted templates, inbound email, a separate bulk stream and an MCP server for AI agents.
- Overages are cheap and capped, at $1, $0.88 and $0.55 per 1,000 emails by plan, rather than a forced upgrade.
- A bootstrapped company since 2011, Railsware, with a 30-day refund on a first purchase, month-to-month billing and a data processing agreement for EU customers.
Where it falls short
- The terms bar unsolicited commercial email, including mass email to recipients who have not requested it, so cold outreach is not a permitted use.
- Free and Basic share IPs and lack reputation monitoring, a dedicated IP and auto warm-up, which only arrive at $85 a month.
- Logs are short-lived at 3, 5, 15 or 30 days by plan, and email bodies are kept for even less.
- The refund window applies to the first purchase only, never to renewals, and you are billed on the first business day of each period whether or not you send.
- The free plan's 150-a-day cap and single domain make it a test account rather than a production one.
PureMail score for Mailtrap
Five criteria, 1 to 5 each, scored on what Mailtrap publishes. How we score.
3.4 / 5
- Price and value
- 4 / 5
- Setup and control
- 4 / 5
- Deliverability foundations
- 4 / 5
- Terms and support
- 4 / 5
- Fit for cold email
- 1 / 5
Published prices, effective cost per mailbox at 10, 30 and 100, no hidden fees. Unpublished pricing scores 1.
Time to first send, DNS automation, domain options, sequencer connection, ownership of domains and mailboxes.
Mailbox type and its inherited reputation, IP policy, warmup path, replacement policy for blocked mailboxes.
Minimum order, billing flexibility, refund and cancellation terms, support channel and hours.
Built and permitted for outbound, integrations with sequencers, warmup and verification tools.
What Mailtrap is
Mailtrap is an email platform built by Railsware, a bootstrapped software company that has run it since 2011 without outside investment and says more than 150,000 teams use it. It began as a fake SMTP server that caught test emails before they reached real customers, and that sandbox is still one of its three products. The other two are an Email API and SMTP service for transactional sending, which is what this profile prices, and an Email Marketing product for campaigns to subscribers. The sending side offers an API, SMTP relay, SDKs for the main languages, webhooks, templates, inbound email, a bulk stream and an MCP server so AI agents can send through it.
Mailtrap pricing
The Email API/SMTP plans are priced by monthly volume on a slider. Free covers 4,000 emails a month and 150 a day from one domain, for one user, with three days of logs. Basic is $15 a month for 10,000 emails, $20 for 50,000 or $30 for 100,000, with three users, five domains, five days of logs, shared IPs and extra emails at $1 per 1,000. Business is $85 for 100,000, $200 for 250,000, $300 for 500,000 or $450 for 750,000, with 100 users, 100 domains, 15 days of logs, a dedicated IP with automatic warm-up, reputation monitoring and extra emails at $0.88 per 1,000. Enterprise is $750 for 1.5 million, $1,250 for 2.5 million or custom above that, with unlimited users and domains, 30 days of logs, priority support, custom contracts and invoicing, and extra emails at $0.55 per 1,000. Overages are capped. The page advertises up to 20% off with annual billing, and the Sandbox and Marketing products carry their own plans, each with a free tier.
Paid plans are charged on the first business day of each period and run until cancelled, which you can do at any time. The terms allow a refund request within 30 days of the first purchase if you are not satisfied, and say the option does not apply to renewals.
Sending, deliverability and integrations
Setup is the usual transactional pattern: add Mailtrap’s SPF, DKIM and DMARC records at your DNS host, verify the domain, and send over SMTP or the REST API with SDKs for Python, PHP, Ruby, Node.js and Java. Logs, open and click tracking, bounce categorisation, suppression management, email throttling and feedback-loop data from more than 20 mailbox providers come on the paid plans, with click tracking and branded HTTPS links from Basic up. Business and Enterprise add the pieces that matter for volume: a dedicated IP that Mailtrap warms automatically, reputation monitoring with alerts, and a safeguard that keeps one bad domain from dragging down the account. Inbound email, webhooks, hosted templates, a separate bulk stream and integrations with Supabase, Vercel and the MCP server round it out.
Cold email and what the terms say
This is where the profile matters for PureMail readers. Mailtrap’s terms prohibit transmitting unsolicited commercial email or spam, and give mass email to recipients who have not requested it as the first example. That rules out cold outreach, whatever the deliverability tooling might suggest, and a shared transactional relay is the wrong place for it anyway: one complaint spike affects every sender on the IP, and the reputation signals mailbox providers use for cold email live on the sending domain and mailbox, not on an API key. Use Mailtrap for the mail your product has to send, and keep cold campaigns on dedicated inboxes.
Who Mailtrap is for, and who should look elsewhere
Mailtrap suits developers and SaaS teams sending transactional email, password resets, receipts and notifications, who want cheap plans, a free tier and good logs. It is a poor fit for cold email of any kind, or for anyone who needs sending logs kept for more than a month.
Mailtrap alternatives
SendGrid is the larger transactional relay with a similar bar on unsolicited mail and higher entry prices. Mailgun adds an EU sending region and a dedicated IP on Scale, and Postmark keeps transactional and broadcast mail on separate streams. The SMTP relay comparison scores all of them.
Mailtrap and PureMail
They do different jobs. Mailtrap carries the email your application sends to people who already have a relationship with you; PureMail inboxes carry cold outreach from dedicated Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 accounts on secondary domains, connected to a sequencer with daily limits. Keeping the two apart protects both: your transactional domain never sees a cold campaign, and your cold domains never share an IP with anyone else’s receipts.
Mailtrap alternatives we have reviewed
SendGrid
Twilio's transactional email API and SMTP relay: 60-day free trial, Essentials from $19.95 a month, Pro from $89.95 with dedicated IPs. Not for cold email.
Mailgun
Sinch's email API and SMTP relay: free 100 emails a day, Basic $15 a month, Foundation $35 for 50,000, Scale from $90 with a dedicated IP. Not for cold email.
Postmark
ActiveCampaign's transactional email service: free 100 emails a month, then $15 to $18 for 10,000 by plan, with separate broadcast streams. Not for cold email.
Mailtrap FAQ
How much does Mailtrap cost?
As of 6 October 2026, the Email API/SMTP product has a free plan of 4,000 emails a month, then Basic at $15 for 10,000, $20 for 50,000 or $30 for 100,000, Business at $85 for 100,000, $200 for 250,000, $300 for 500,000 or $450 for 750,000, and Enterprise at $750 for 1.5 million, $1,250 for 2.5 million or custom. Extra emails cost $1, $0.88 or $0.55 per 1,000 by plan, and the page advertises up to 20% off with annual billing. Email Sandbox and Email Marketing are priced separately, each with a free plan.
Is Mailtrap free?
Yes, with limits. The free Email API/SMTP plan sends 4,000 emails a month and 150 a day from one domain for one user, keeps logs for three days, and needs no card. The pricing FAQ confirms all three products have a free plan. For anything in production the 150-a-day cap and single domain run out fast, which is what the $15 Basic plan is for.
Can I use Mailtrap for cold email?
No. The terms of service prohibit uploading or transmitting unsolicited commercial email or spam, and spell out mass email to recipients who have not requested it as an example. Mailtrap is built for transactional and permission-based mail: receipts, password resets, notifications and marketing to subscribers. Cold outreach belongs on dedicated Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 inboxes with a sequencer, not on a shared transactional relay.
Does Mailtrap offer a dedicated IP and warm-up?
On Business and Enterprise. Those plans include a dedicated IP with automatic warm-up that ramps volume gradually, plus reputation monitoring with alerts, bounce categorisation, email throttling and a safeguard that isolates problems on one domain from the rest of the account. Free and Basic send from shared IPs without those features.
Can I cancel Mailtrap, and is there a refund?
Paid plans are charged on the first business day of each billing period and continue until you cancel, which you can do at any time from the account or by contacting Mailtrap. The terms allow a refund request within 30 days of the first day of purchase if you are not satisfied, and say the option does not apply to renewals.
Sources
Disclosure: PureMail sells Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 inboxes and competes with some tools in this directory. We do not assign star ratings and we do not take payment for placement. Spotted an error? Email [email protected] and we will correct it within a week.
More tools in the directory
Mailgun
Sinch's email API and SMTP relay: free 100 emails a day, Basic $15 a month, Foundation $35 for 50,000, Scale from $90 with a dedicated IP. Not for cold email.
Postmark
ActiveCampaign's transactional email service: free 100 emails a month, then $15 to $18 for 10,000 by plan, with separate broadcast streams. Not for cold email.
SendGrid
Twilio's transactional email API and SMTP relay: 60-day free trial, Essentials from $19.95 a month, Pro from $89.95 with dedicated IPs. Not for cold email.
Setup guides from PureMail
How to Set Up SPF, DKIM and DMARC for Cold Email Domains
Step-by-step SPF, DKIM and DMARC setup for cold email domains on Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, plus the mistakes that quietly kill deliverability.