ImprovMX vs Migadu (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, ImprovMX grades higher than Migadu: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
ImprovMX grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ImprovMX
Email forwarding and sending for custom domains
Migadu
Swiss email hosting with unlimited addresses at a flat price
Which one is for you
Pick ImprovMX if
- Fits if you have a domain and want its mail to land in an inbox you already use
- Works for people who send from their own domain and want plans from $50 a year
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a mailbox or email client, as it only forwards
- Tight if you stay free: no SMTP sending and no rules
- Watch out: forwarding stops if a daily or monthly limit is hit until it resets or you upgrade
- Watch out: Enterprise is sold through contact only
Pick Migadu if
- Fits if you own a domain and want many addresses without per-mailbox prices
- Works for people who are comfortable setting up DNS records
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you need 2FA on mailboxes or encryption, as its own page says it has neither
- Skip it if you want phone or chat support, as it offers neither
- Tight if you send in volume: daily limits apply, and it says it's meant for human email, not bulk
- Watch out: Micro lacks mailbox limit settings, welcome messages and multi-administrator access
- Watch out: the interface is English only
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAImprovMXFair | 2.2GPAMigaduFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BFree for 1 domain, 25 aliases and 500 forwarded emails a day, and Light is $50 a year, about $4.17 a month. Sending isn't in the free plan. | BMicro is $19 a year, about $1.58 a month, but it's limited to 200 incoming and 20 outgoing messages a day. Mini at $9 a month is where limits loosen. |
| Free plan and trial | B1 domain, 25 aliases, 500 forwards a day, 7-day logs and API access for nothing. One person could live on it, as long as they don't need to send. | CA free trial with no card, though the listing doesn't state its length. No free plan. Refunds are 100% within 14 days. |
| Features | CAlias forwarding, sending from your domain, routing rules, logs and webhooks, and an API. It does forwarding fully, but that's a smaller job than a mailbox, and sending needs Light. | CUnlimited addresses and domains, standard protocols, setup help and forwarding. Gaps its own page lists: no 2FA on mailboxes, no encryption, a basic calendar and an English-only interface. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You change your domain's DNS records to point mail at it. | CNo store rating on record. You point your domain's DNS at it and use standard mail apps, with no first-party apps. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with an API and webhooks. No integrations list, phone app or desktop app. | CWeb only on the listing, plus standard IMAP clients. No phone or desktop app of its own, and no integrations listed. |
| Best for | email forwarding for your own domain | unlimited addresses on your own domain |
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: ImprovMX and Migadu. How we grade
Price against what you get
ImprovMX starts at $4.17 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Migadu starts at $1.58 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Migadu starts $2.59 a month lower. Of the other email apps on the chart, 27 score higher than ImprovMX for less, and 11 score higher than Migadu 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
- ImprovMX also covers inbox filtering and transactional email.
- Migadu also covers calendar and email client.
At a glance
| ImprovMX | Migadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $50 per year (Light, up to 5 domains) | $19 per year (Micro, no monthly option) |
| Free plan | 1 domain, 25 aliases, 500 forwarded emails a day, 7-day email logs and API access. No SMTP sending. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial, no credit card required; length not stated |
| Web | ||
| Made by | ImprovMX | Migadu |
| Price read from | improvmx.com | migadu.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
ImprovMX
- ImprovMX forwards mail; it does not host mailboxes or provide a mail client.
- The Free plan has no SMTP sending and no rules; sending needs Light or higher.
- Forwarding stops if a daily or monthly limit is hit until it resets or you upgrade.
- Enterprise is sold through contact only.
Migadu
- Its own drawbacks page lists no 2FA on mailboxes, no encryption, basic calendar, English-only interface and no phone or chat support.
- Daily incoming and outgoing limits apply per plan, and Migadu says it is meant for human email use, not bulk sending.
- The Micro plan lacks mailbox limit settings, welcome messages and multi-administrator access.
- Refunds are 100% within 14 days, though extensive use may be deducted.
Key features
ImprovMX
- Alias forwarding
- Forwards mail from addresses on your domain to one or several destinations, with catch-all and regex aliases, or to a webhook.
- Sending from your domain
- Paid plans send over SMTP or a JSON send API using the custom domain, within monthly send limits.
- Routing rules
- Customizable rules control how incoming email is routed; the number of rules rises by plan.
- Logs and webhooks
- Email logs help trace missing messages, with retention from 7 days to 180 days on paid plans; webhooks are paid-only.
- Public API
- An API key lets you create domains and aliases and view logs programmatically, on every plan including Free.
Migadu
- Unlimited addresses and domains
- Plans are flat per account; extra mailboxes, addresses and domains cost nothing, and usage across them counts toward one quota.
- Standard protocols
- Webmail, SMTP, IMAP4 and POP3, with no proprietary protocols or clients, so any current mail client works.
- Setup help
- Migadu says it can set up your DNS for email for you at no extra fee, and includes a built-in DNS service.
- Soft storage limits
- Storage allowances are soft, so mail does not bounce for a full mailbox; daily message limits are enforced.
- Forwarding and auto-responders
- Messages can be forwarded to up to 25 other addresses, and an auto-responder handles absences.
Plans
ImprovMX
Free$0
1 domain, 25 aliases, 500 forwarded emails a day, 7-day logs, API access and standard support.
Light$50
per year, up to 5 domains
25 aliases per domain, 150,000 forwarded and 750 SMTP-sent emails a month, 5 rules per domain.
Premium$9
per month, up to 30 domains
100 aliases per domain, 150,000 forwarded and 12,000 SMTP-sent emails a month, webhooks.
Pro$24
per month, up to 100 domains
200 aliases per domain, 450,000 forwarded and 60,000 SMTP-sent emails a month, 50 rules per domain.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited domains, aliases and sending, a dedicated account manager and support SLAs.
Migadu
Micro$19
per year, no monthly option
5 GB, 200 incoming and 20 outgoing messages a day, with some features unavailable.
Mini$9
per month, flat per account
30 GB, 1,000 incoming and 100 outgoing messages a day, best-effort support.
Standard$29
per month, flat per account
100 GB, 3,000 incoming and 500 outgoing messages a day, with office-hours support.
Maxi$99
per month, flat per account
500 GB, 10,000 incoming and 2,000 outgoing messages a day, with 24x7 priority support.
Ways to pay less
ImprovMX
- Annual discount
15% off yearly billing
Yearly billing costs $90 for Premium and $240 for Pro, which the pricing page labels as 15% off.
Migadu
- Annual discount
Yearly plans save at least a month
Mini, Standard and Maxi cost $90, $290 and $990 per year, which the pricing FAQ says saves at least one month against monthly billing.
- Nonprofit
Discounts for non-profits and students
The pricing FAQ says non-profits get a significant discount on request, and students do too with a valid student ID.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, ImprovMX or Migadu?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Migadu is cheaper to start with: $1.58 a month when paid by the year, against $4.17 a month when paid by the year for ImprovMX. ImprovMX starts at $50 per year (Light, up to 5 domains), and Migadu starts at $19 per year (Micro, no monthly option).
Which has a free plan, ImprovMX or Migadu?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only ImprovMX has a free plan. Migadu 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.