EmailEngine vs Smtp.dev (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Smtp.dev grades higher than EmailEngine: 2.6 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Smtp.dev grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
EmailEngine
Self-hosted REST API for Gmail, Microsoft 365 and IMAP mailboxes
Smtp.dev
Email testing sandbox with SMTP, IMAP and a REST API
Which one is for you
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 Smtp.dev if
- Fits if you test an app or test suite that sends email and want to read it back
- Works for CI pipelines that need a real inbox to check, with no real mail leaving
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to deliver real email: outbound only reaches accounts inside the sandbox
- Tight if you stay on Lite: 1 domain, 50 accounts and messages deleted after 7 days
- Tight if you need catch-all addresses, which start on Pro
- Watch out: messages are deleted at the end of the 7, 30 or 90 day window
- Watch out: the pricing page shows monthly prices only
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAEmailEngineWeak | 2.6GPASmtp.devGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$1,450 a year, or $199 a month, whatever the mailbox count. That's about $121 a month on yearly billing, above the category's dearest tenth at $68. | BPro is $7 a month, inside the cheapest quarter of email sending tools, which start at $9. Max is $20. |
| Free plan and trial | C14-day free trial, no sign-up and no card, started on your own server. After that it needs a subscription. | BLite is free: 1 domain, 50 accounts and 7 days of messages, with SMTP, IMAP, POP3, API and email audit. One project could live on that. |
| Features | COne REST API for three mailbox types, webhooks for incoming mail, managed OAuth2 and a send endpoint. It's a mailbox API, not a sending service. | CSMTP, IMAP, POP3 and REST API access, message inspection, own-domain receiving and a deliverability audit. It does the testing job fully, but it never sends real email. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. You host it yourself and it needs a Redis database that keeps its data. | CNo store rating on record. You point your app or test suite at it and set DNS records for your own domain. |
| Platforms and integrations | CRuns on Linux, macOS, Windows and Docker as a program on your own machine, with no hosted version. It connects to Gmail, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. | BWeb with an API, plus CI use with GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI, Playwright, Cypress and Nodemailer. |
| Best for | a REST API over Gmail, Microsoft 365 and IMAP | testing app email without sending to real inboxes |
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: EmailEngine and Smtp.dev. How we grade
Price against what you get
EmailEngine starts at $120.83 a month when paid by the year and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Smtp.dev starts at $7 a month and scores 2.3.
Smtp.dev scores higher and starts $113.83 a month lower. Of the other email sending services on the chart, 39 score higher than EmailEngine for less, and 3 score higher than Smtp.dev 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
- EmailEngine is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- EmailEngine also covers transactional email.
- Smtp.dev also covers dMARC.
At a glance
| EmailEngine | Smtp.dev | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $199 per month, or $1,450 per year (€169 or €1,200) | $7 per month for Pro |
| Free plan | None | Lite plan: 1 domain, 50 accounts, messages kept 7 days, with SMTP, IMAP, POP3, API and email audit. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no sign-up or credit card, activated on your own server | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Postal Systems OÜ | SMTP Labs, Inc. |
| Price read from | emailengine.app | smtp.dev |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Smtp.dev
- It is a testing sandbox: on every plan, outbound mail is delivered only to accounts inside the sandbox, not to real inboxes.
- Lite keeps messages for 7 days and allows 1 domain and 50 accounts; catch-all accounts need Pro or Max.
- Messages are deleted automatically at the end of the plan's retention window of 7, 30 or 90 days.
- The pricing page shows monthly prices only and does not mention annual billing.
Key features
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.
Smtp.dev
- SMTP, IMAP and POP3 access
- Standard mail clients and libraries connect with ordinary settings, with no SDK to install.
- REST API
- Accounts, messages, domains and tokens can be managed over the API, which is limited to 4096 requests a minute per user.
- Message inspection
- Shows headers, the MIME tree and the raw RFC 5322 source of each message, plus an HTML preview.
- Own-domain receiving
- Pointing a domain's or subdomain's MX record at the sandbox lets it receive mail from any service.
- Deliverability audit
- Checks sender configuration, HTML structure, links and content patterns that spam filters flag, grouped by severity.
- CI use
- Works with any CI system that can send over SMTP, with guides for GitHub Actions, Jenkins and GitLab CI.
Plans
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.
Smtp.dev
Lite$0
1 domain, 50 accounts and 7 days of message retention; plus-sign aliasing but no catch-all.
Pro$7
per month
5 domains, 25,000 accounts, 30 days of retention, and catch-all and aliasing.
Max$20
per month
Unlimited domains and accounts, 90 days of retention, and catch-all and aliasing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, EmailEngine or Smtp.dev?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Smtp.dev is cheaper to start with: $7 a month, against $120.83 a month when paid by the year for EmailEngine. EmailEngine starts at $199 per month, or $1,450 per year (€169 or €1,200), and Smtp.dev starts at $7 per month for Pro.
Which has a free plan, EmailEngine or Smtp.dev?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Smtp.dev has a free plan. EmailEngine does not, though it has a free trial.
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.