ImprovMX vs SimpleLogin (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, ImprovMX and SimpleLogin share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan, and SimpleLogin starts cheaper, at $3 a month when paid by the year against $4.17 a month when paid by the year.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
ImprovMX grades higher on the free plan. SimpleLogin grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
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
SimpleLogin
Open-source email aliases that forward to your own inbox
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 SimpleLogin if
- Fits if you want a different address for every site you sign up to
- Works for people who already have an inbox and only want to hide it
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, as it is 10 aliases and 1 mailbox
- Skip it if you need a mailbox of your own, since it only forwards to an inbox you already have
- Pricey if you want custom domains or catch-all, both Premium at $36 a year
- Watch out: there is no family plan and the listing says there are no refunds
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAImprovMXFair | 2.4GPASimpleLoginFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BPremium is $36 a year, $3 a month, inside the cheaper quarter of email tools, which starts at $3.99 a month. Monthly billing is $4. |
| 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. | CFree covers 10 aliases, 1 mailbox, unlimited bandwidth and replies from an alias. You will hit the 10 quickly if you give every site its own. |
| 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. | CForwards and replies from aliases, with PGP on Premium. It does not host a mailbox, and custom domains and catch-all sit on Premium. |
| 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 connect your real inbox and install the extension or app before it does anything. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with an API and webhooks. No integrations list, phone app or desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone, Android and browser extensions, plus Proton Pass features. No desktop app on the listing. |
| Best for | email forwarding for your own domain | email aliases that forward to your inbox |
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 SimpleLogin. 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. SimpleLogin starts at $3 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3.
SimpleLogin scores higher and starts $1.17 a month lower. Of the other email apps on the chart, 27 score higher than ImprovMX for less, and 8 score higher than SimpleLogin 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
- SimpleLogin is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- ImprovMX also covers inbox filtering and transactional email.
At a glance
| ImprovMX | SimpleLogin | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $50 per year (Light, up to 5 domains) | $36 per year ($4 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 1 domain, 25 aliases, 500 forwarded emails a day, 7-day email logs and API access. No SMTP sending. | 10 aliases, 1 mailbox, unlimited bandwidth, replies from an alias, browser extensions and mobile apps. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | ImprovMX | Proton AG |
| Price read from | improvmx.com | simplelogin.io |
| 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.
SimpleLogin
- The free plan stops at 10 aliases and 1 mailbox; custom domains and catch-all need Premium.
- It forwards to an inbox you already have and does not host a mailbox.
- There is no family plan, only a 30% reduction on extra subscriptions on request, and no refunds.
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.
SimpleLogin
- Aliases per site
- Create an alias for each account so a breach or a spam list exposes that alias only. The free plan allows 10.
- Reply from the alias
- Answer forwarded mail without exposing your address. Starting a new email from an alias needs Premium.
- Custom domains and catch-all
- Premium lets you bring your own domains, set a catch-all rule, and use subdomains and directories or usernames.
- PGP encryption
- Premium can encrypt forwarded mail with your PGP key before it reaches your mailbox.
- Apps and extensions
- Extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Safari, iOS and Android apps, TOTP and WebAuthn sign-in, and Sign in with SimpleLogin.
- Proton Pass features
- Both plans include Proton Pass, with its premium features (vaults, 2FA authenticator) bundled into Premium.
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.
SimpleLogin
Free$0
10 aliases, 1 mailbox, unlimited bandwidth and replies from an alias.
Premium$36
per year ($4 billed monthly)
Unlimited aliases and custom domains, catch-all, 5 subdomains, unlimited mailboxes and PGP encryption.
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.
SimpleLogin
- Education
Discounts for students and charities
The pricing page says it gives discounts or free Premium to educational staff and students, activists, journalists and charities, by email request.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, ImprovMX or SimpleLogin?
As of Nov 12, 2026, SimpleLogin is cheaper to start with: $3 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 SimpleLogin starts at $36 per year ($4 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, ImprovMX or SimpleLogin?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both ImprovMX and SimpleLogin have a free plan.
Which platforms do ImprovMX and SimpleLogin run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only SimpleLogin lists iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. 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.