EmailEngine vs Forward Email (2026): which should you pick?

Pick EmailEngine if

• Fits if you're building an app that has to read and send from your users' own mailboxes
• Works for teams with many mailboxes who want one flat price and can run a server

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a hosted service, because you run it yourself and there isn't one
• Pricey if you have only a few mailboxes, as the price is the same $1,450 a year for any number
• Not for you if you want open source: it's source available and needs a subscription past the trial
• Watch out: it needs a Redis database that persists data
• Watch out: prices leave out VAT

Pick Forward Email if

• Fits if you want email on your own domain and don't want to pay per mailbox
• Works for developers who want open-source software they can also self-host

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you need to send mail on the free plan, because it only forwards
• Watch out: outbound limits on the $3 plan depend on your sending reputation, not a stated number
• Watch out: forget your mailbox password and the mailbox is gone unless you kept offline backups
• Tight if you need over 10 GB of storage, as extra is $3 a month per 10 GB
• Pricey if you want team controls and priority support, which start at $9 a month

EmailEngine

• It is source available rather than open source: running it beyond the trial requires a subscription.
• You host it yourself and it needs a Redis database that must persist data.
• The flat price is $1,450 a year ($199 a month) whatever the mailbox count, so it suits larger use more than a few mailboxes.
• Prices exclude VAT, and the vendor lists the product's platforms as Linux, macOS, Windows and Docker with no hosted version.

Forward Email

• The free plan cannot send mail, so it does not work as a sending service.
• Sending limits on Enhanced Protection are reputation-based rather than a fixed monthly count.
• The site says that if you forget your mailbox password you lose the mailbox unless you have offline backups.
• Prices are listed per month for unlimited domains; no yearly billing is shown on the page.

EmailEngine

One REST API for three mailbox types

Read, send and sync Gmail, Microsoft 365 and generic IMAP accounts through the same API.

Webhooks for incoming mail

New messages in a connected mailbox are pushed to your application as parsed JSON, so the app does not poll or speak IMAP.

Managed OAuth2

Handles OAuth2 for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, and can bridge legacy apps that only speak IMAP and SMTP.

Self-hosted deployment

Ships as a single binary, a Docker image, an npm package and an installer script, and needs a Redis database.

Agent access

The same API is offered as a tool surface for AI agents that read, summarize, draft and send mail.

Forward Email

Forwarding on custom domains

Receive mail at your own domain and forward it to an existing address, with catch-all aliases, multiple recipients per alias and regex filtering.

Outbound SMTP

Enhanced Protection and above send through SMTP, with unlimited outbound on a reputation basis and 900 a day at the start of Team.

Mailboxes with IMAP storage

Paid plans include 10 GB of pooled storage; extra storage is $3 a month per 10 GB. The site says mailboxes are encrypted with your password.

Developer API and webhooks

A developer API comes with paid plans, and mail on any plan can be sent to webhooks.

Open source and self-hosting

The software is open source and a self-hosted Docker version is listed among the features.

EmailEngine

• Subscription$1,450

  per year, unlimited mailboxes ($199 billed monthly)

  Unlimited mailboxes, instances, API calls, webhooks and licence keys, plus updates while subscribed. In euros: €1,200 a year or €169 a month; VAT extra.

• EnterpriseCustom

  The same software with a perpetual licence paid once, offline verification, invoice or wire payment, net terms and custom contract terms.

Forward Email

• Free$0

  Email forwarding only: unlimited inbound mail, spam protection, 50 MB attachments, catch-all addresses and regex filtering. No sending.

• Enhanced Protection$3

  per month for unlimited domains

  Adds unlimited aliases, 10 GB pooled storage, outbound SMTP with reputation-based limits, DMARC reporting and API access.

• Team$9

  per month for unlimited domains

  Everything in Enhanced, plus unlimited team members, permission management and priority support. Outbound starts at 900 a day.

• Enterprise$250

  per month for unlimited domains

  Adds unlimited API requests, a dedicated support chatroom, a contract by DocuSign and onboarding help.