Forward Email vs Postmark (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Forward Email grades higher than Postmark: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Forward Email grades higher on value for money and platforms. Postmark grades higher on features. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Forward Email
Open-source email forwarding and hosting for custom domains
Postmark
Transactional email API and SMTP, with broadcasts on a separate stream
Which one is for you
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
Pick Postmark if
- Fits if you want password resets kept on a separate stream from your newsletters
- Works for apps that need to look back at exactly what an email said weeks later
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you send 50,000 emails a month, at $55 with no yearly discount
- Skip it if you want a free plan to run a small app on, as it's 100 emails a month with no tier until 10,000
- Tight if you're on Basic, with 4 users, 5 sending domains and no inbound email
- Not for you if you want a dedicated IP below 300,000 emails a month, and each one is $50 a month on Pro or higher
- Watch out: DMARC reports are an add-on from $14 a month per domain
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAForward EmailGood | 2.2GPAPostmarkFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$3 a month for unlimited domains and aliases, under the $6 that is 60% of the $10 where the cheaper quarter of sending services starts. It is mostly a mailbox and forwarding service, so the comparison is rough. | DGraded on 50,000 emails a month: $55 on Basic or $60.50 on Pro, billed monthly only. That's the dearest in this category at that volume, roughly twice the middle. Bootstrapped companies can ask for $75 of credit. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free plan forwards unlimited inbound mail with catch-all addresses, but it cannot send or store mail, so for the sending job nothing free works. | CA free developer plan that never expires and needs no card, but it's 100 emails a month with no way to buy more. That's for testing an integration, not running an app. |
| Features | CForwarding, IMAP mailboxes, outbound SMTP and an API on paid plans, but sending is an add-on to a mailbox service and the listing names no tracking, templates or dedicated IPs. | BAPI and SMTP with SDKs, separate streams for app and bulk email, inbound email turned into JSON, templates, 45 days of message history and DMARC reports as an add-on from $14 a month. It covers the job; inbound needs Pro. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You point your domain's DNS at the service and create aliases, and the site warns that a forgotten mailbox password loses the mailbox. | CJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: official SDKs, a sandbox mode, ready-made templates for resets and receipts, and migration guides. You'll still verify a domain first. No rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | AApps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android plus the web, and a developer API with webhooks. | BWeb, with an API and SMTP, plus Zapier, WordPress, Stripe, Slack, Supabase, Bubble, Netlify and Datadog. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | email on your own domain without per-mailbox fees | app email kept apart from marketing sends |
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: Forward Email and Postmark. How we grade
Price against what you get
Forward Email starts at $3 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Postmark starts at $15 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Forward Email starts $12 a month lower. Of the other email sending services on the chart, none scores higher than Forward Email for less, and none scores higher than Postmark 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
- Forward Email is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Postmark also covers dMARC and transactional email.
At a glance
| Forward Email | Postmark | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $3 per month for unlimited domains | $15 per month for 10,000 emails |
| Free plan | Unlimited inbound forwarding, catch-all addresses and webhooks for unlimited domains. It cannot send mail or store mail. | Free developer plan: 100 emails a month with no expiry and no overages, for testing an integration or a small side project. No credit card needed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Forward Email LLC | ActiveCampaign, LLC |
| Price read from | forwardemail.net | postmarkapp.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Postmark
- There is no tier between the free 100 emails a month and the 10,000-email paid plans.
- Billing is monthly only; the FAQ says annual plans are not offered yet.
- Basic has no inbound email processing and caps users at 4 and sending domains at 5.
- Dedicated IPs start at $50 a month per IP, need Pro or higher and 300,000 emails a month or more.
Key features
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.
Postmark
- Email API and SMTP
- Send through a REST API with official SDKs or through SMTP, with batch sending, a sandbox mode and migration guides from other providers.
- Message streams
- Transactional and bulk or broadcast email run on separate sending infrastructure, so marketing sends do not affect password resets and receipts.
- Inbound email processing
- Pro and Platform turn incoming email into a JSON object and post it to a webhook URL your app handles.
- Templates
- Responsive templates for welcome emails, password resets and receipts, with a template editor and import tool.
- Message history and analytics
- 45 days of full message content by default, adjustable from 7 to 365 days, with bounce details, open and link tracking and a stats API.
- DMARC monitoring
- DMARC Digests reports show authentication problems and who is sending with your domain, sold as an add-on from $14 a month per domain.
Plans
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.
Postmark
Free$0
100 emails a month, never expires; extra emails cannot be bought on this plan.
Basic$15
per month for 10,000 emails
5 sending domains, 4 users, 45 days of history, no inbound email. Extra emails $1.80 per 1,000; $55 a month at 50,000 emails.
Pro$16.50
per month for 10,000 emails
10 domains, 6 users, inbound email, retention up to 365 days. Extra emails $1.30 per 1,000; $60.50 a month at 50,000 emails.
Platform$18
per month for 10,000 emails
Unlimited domains, servers, streams and users, with inbound email. Extra emails $1.20 per 1,000; $66 a month at 50,000 emails.
High volumeCustom
Custom pricing for large senders, arranged through sales.
Ways to pay less
Forward Email
No public discounts listed.
Postmark
- Startups
$75 credit for bootstrapped companies
Companies that have launched, are charging for their product and have taken no outside investment can ask support for $75 of account credit.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Forward Email or Postmark?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Forward Email is cheaper to start with: $3 a month, against $15 a month for Postmark. Forward Email starts at $3 per month for unlimited domains, and Postmark starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails.
Which has a free plan, Forward Email or Postmark?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Forward Email and Postmark have a free plan.
Which platforms do Forward Email and Postmark run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Forward Email lists macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.