AuthSMTP vs Elastic Email (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Elastic Email grades higher than AuthSMTP: 2.6 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Elastic Email grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Elastic Email
Low-cost email API and SMTP relay priced by monthly email volume
Which one is for you
Pick AuthSMTP if
- Fits if you want to send from your own domain through SMTP and need nothing else
- Works for older apps and devices that can only send through SMTP
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try it free, because there is no free plan or trial
- Skip it if you want a campaign builder or marketing tools, as it is an SMTP relay only
- Watch out: pricing is by the year only, charged up front
- Watch out: the 14-day money-back guarantee covers only new card or PayPal accounts and ends after 100 messages
- Tight if you send big files: data allowances assume an average message of 300 KB
Pick Elastic Email if
- Fits if you send about 50,000 emails a month and your app doesn't need webhooks
- Works for agencies reselling email under their own brand, which needs Pro at $49
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your app needs bounce webhooks or inbound email on Starter, as both start with Pro at $49
- Tight if you need more than 3 days of logs, which is all Free and Starter keep
- Watch out: the free plan stops at 100 emails a day, even though it allows 3,000 a month
- Not for you if you want newsletters on the same account, as Email Marketing is separate and priced by contacts
- Pricey if you need a private IP, an add-on at $40 or $50 a month
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAAuthSMTPWeak | 2.6GPAElastic EmailGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$72 a year for 2,000 emails a month works out to $6 a month, inside the cheapest quarter of email sending tools. It is billed yearly, and 10,000 emails a month is $216 a year. | BGraded on 50,000 emails a month: Starter is $19 for exactly that, inside the lowest-priced quarter of this category at that volume. Webhooks, which tell your app about bounces and complaints, and inbound email need Pro at $49. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial. A 14-day money-back guarantee is not a trial, and it ends after 100 messages sent or an upgrade. | CFree for good, no card: 3,000 emails a month, capped at 100 a day, with the API, SMTP, designer and 3 days of logs. A live app that sends more than 100 emails in one day hits the cap. |
| Features | CIt does one job: authenticated SMTP sending, with several from addresses, a control panel, logs and scanning. It is a smaller job, and it does that job fully. | BAPI and SMTP with libraries in seven languages, drag-and-drop and AI template design, suppressions, verification, inbound email, webhooks, private IPs and reseller tools. It covers the job across its plans, but the developer parts sit on Pro. |
| Ease of use | CA web control panel with no rating on record. You enter SMTP credentials into whatever sends your mail. | CJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: libraries for most languages and an SMTP relay, once your domain is verified. No rating on record. With 3 days of logs on Free and Starter, chasing a failed email has to be quick. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb control panel only, with no integrations listed on the pages read. | BWeb, with an API and SMTP, plus Zapier, WordPress, Cloudways, Lovable, Bolt, v0 and Replit. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | sending from an app or device through SMTP | sending around 50,000 emails a month |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: AuthSMTP and Elastic Email. How we grade
Price against what you get
AuthSMTP starts at $6 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Elastic Email starts at $19 a month and scores 2.7.
Elastic Email scores higher, and starts $13 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email sending services on the chart, 2 score higher than AuthSMTP for less, and none scores higher than Elastic Email for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Elastic Email also covers email campaigns and email verification.
At a glance
| AuthSMTP | Elastic Email | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $72 per year for 2,000 emails a month | $19 per month for 50,000 emails |
| Free plan | None | Up to 3,000 emails a month, limited to 100 a day, with the API, SMTP relay, email designer and 3 days of email logs. No credit card needed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | GetOnline Ltd | Elastic Email Inc. |
| Price read from | authsmtp.com | elasticemail.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
AuthSMTP
- Pricing is by the year only, and no free plan or trial is offered.
- The 14-day money-back guarantee ends after 14 days, after 100 messages sent or after an upgrade, and covers new card or PayPal accounts only.
- It is an SMTP relay without a campaign builder or marketing tools.
- Data allowances are calculated on an average message size of 300 KB, which the pricing page lets you change.
Elastic Email
- The free plan is limited to 100 emails a day, and email logs are kept for 3 days on Free and Starter.
- Inbound email processing, webhooks and subaccounts need Pro, which costs $49 a month at 50,000 emails.
- Email Marketing is a separate product with its own account, priced by contacts: $29 a month for 2,500 on Starter, free up to 1,000.
- A private IP is an add-on at $40 or $50 a month, depending on the plan.
Key features
AuthSMTP
- Authenticated SMTP
- Sends from any application through an authenticated SMTP server, with SSL or TLS, alternative ports and multiple concurrent connections.
- Multiple from addresses and domains
- Each account allows a set number of from addresses or domains, from 20 on the smallest to 600 on the larger accounts.
- Flexible quota upgrades
- The site says an account can be boosted in a month as usage grows, with no automatic payments.
- Control panel and logs
- An online control panel shows account status and logged errors. A separate REST API is described, with message submission in beta.
- Security and scanning
- Messages are virus-scanned, with sender-domain validation and SPF and DKIM support. The site says it maintains PCI DSS compliance.
Elastic Email
- HTTP API and SMTP relay
- Send through a REST API with libraries for languages including Go, Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby and Rust, or through SMTP, with attachments.
- Email designer
- Drag-and-drop templates with responsive layouts, a raw HTML editor and an AI template designer: 10 prompts a month on Free, 40 on Starter, 100 on Pro.
- Suppressions and verification
- Unsubscribe and bounce handling, suppressed-contact export, and single or bulk email address verification on paid plans.
- Inbound email and webhooks
- Pro processes incoming email and sends webhook notifications for deliveries, opens, clicks, bounces and complaints.
- Reseller and white-label tools
- Pro adds subaccounts, white-label SMTP and HTTP API, and the app on your own domain for agencies reselling email.
- Private IPs
- Dedicated IPs with warm-up and IP pools, at $40 a month on Starter or $50 a month on Pro.
Plans
AuthSMTP
AuthSMTP 2$72
per year for 2,000 emails a month
20 from addresses or domains, 600 MB of data a month, shared IP address.
AuthSMTP 4$108
per year for 4,000 emails a month
40 from addresses or domains, 1.2 GB of data a month, shared IP address.
AuthSMTP 10$216
per year for 10,000 emails a month
100 from addresses or domains and 3 GB of data a month. Steps of 6, 8 and 15 sit between the larger ones.
AuthSMTP 20$336
per year for 20,000 emails a month
200 from addresses or domains and 6 GB of data a month.
AuthSMTP 50$450
per year for 50,000 emails a month
500 from addresses or domains and 15 GB of data a month; the table marks a dedicated IP as available from this size.
AuthSMTP 100$870
per year for 100,000 emails a month
600 from addresses or domains and 30 GB of data a month. Larger accounts continue past 1 million a month.
Elastic Email
Free$0
3,000 emails a month and 100 a day, API and SMTP relay, Starter's basic features, 3 days of logs.
Starter$19
per month for 50,000 emails
API and SMTP relay, email designer, suppressions, single and bulk verification, 3 days of logs. $29 a month at 100,000 emails.
Pro$49
per month for 50,000 emails
Adds inbound email processing, webhooks, subaccounts, user management, reseller features and 7 days of logs. $59 a month at 100,000 emails.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, AuthSMTP or Elastic Email?
As of Nov 12, 2026, AuthSMTP is cheaper to start with: $6 a month when paid by the year, against $19 a month for Elastic Email. AuthSMTP starts at $72 per year for 2,000 emails a month, and Elastic Email starts at $19 per month for 50,000 emails.
Which has a free plan, AuthSMTP or Elastic Email?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Elastic Email has a free plan. AuthSMTP does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.