Mailtrap
Email API and SMTP for sending, with a sandbox for testing emails
Mailtrap report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 18, 2026
Best for testing and sending email from one provider
Mailtrap is best known for its sandbox, which catches test emails from development so they never reach real people, and it sends real email too, by API or SMTP. 50,000 emails is $20 a month on Basic, among the cheapest at that volume. The sandbox and marketing are priced separately, and dedicated IPs wait for the $85 Business plan.
Who Mailtrap is for
- Great if you want to test emails in staging and send them for real from one place
- Handy when you're moving from SendGrid, Mailgun or Amazon SES
- Good for side projects sending up to 4,000 emails a month for nothing
Who Mailtrap is not for
- Pricey if you need a dedicated IP, which starts with Business at $85 a month
- Tight if you send far past your plan, as overages are capped and you're told to upgrade
- Not for you if you want newsletters included, since Email Marketing is priced separately
Why Mailtrap gets a 2.6
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- BValue for moneyGraded on 50,000 emails a month: Basic is $20 at that volume, in the cheaper quarter of this category, with 3 users and 5 domains. There's no yearly discount on sending, and dedicated IPs, SSO and live chat need Business at $85.
- CFree plan and trialFree for good: 4,000 emails a month, but only 150 a day, with 1 user, 1 domain and 3 days of logs, and no extra emails allowed. Handy for a side project, tight for a live app.
- BFeaturesAPI and SMTP with SDKs, templates, webhooks, a separate bulk stream, inbound email, analytics by mailbox provider and a sandbox for test emails. It covers the whole job, though the sandbox is a separate plan and no address validation is on record.
- CEase of useJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: SDKs for five languages and SMTP, once a domain is verified, and the sandbox lets you test without emailing anyone. No rating on record.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, with an API, SMTP and SDKs, plus Supabase, Vercel, Claude, Cursor, Windsurf and Antigravity. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Mailtrap's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Mailtrap? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/mailtrap#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/mailtrap.svg" alt="Mailtrap: 2.6 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Mailtrap stands among email sending services
Mailtrap's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 6 of the 11 other email sending services we grade, and level with 4.
It stands best on value for money (B, above 6 of 11) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $15 a month, against a middle price of $15 for the category: 2 of the 10 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 12 email sending services we grade, cut by the letter each got. Mailtrap’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 6 of 11, level with 4
- CFree plan and trialAbove 1 of 11, level with 10
- BFeaturesAbove 2 of 11, level with 9
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 11, level with 11
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 11, level with 11
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 11 email sending services. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Mailtrap, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Mailtrap you would be making mail servers with a good name among inbox providers. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $180 a year.
What you could not
- Mail servers with a good name among inbox providers.
- Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox.
- It plugs into other products, Supabase, Vercel and Claude among them, and has an API.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on and roles and permissions.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Mailtrap’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Mailtrap?
Mailtrap, from Railsware, sends transactional and bulk email through an API or SMTP, and is also known for its Email Sandbox, which catches test emails from development and staging so they never reach real people. It adds inbound email for apps and AI agents, a separate bulk stream and analytics by mailbox provider. Sending plans are priced by emails a month, with 4,000 a month free.
Mailtrap has a free plan. Paid plans start at $15 per month for 10,000 emails. See every plan
Good for
- Developers who want testing and sending from one provider
- Small teams sending up to 4,000 emails a month for free
- Companies moving from SendGrid, Mailgun or Amazon SES
Worth knowing
- Basic has no dedicated IP and keeps 5 days of logs; dedicated IPs, SSO and live chat support start with Business at $85 a month.
- The free plan caps sending at 150 emails a day and allows no overage.
- Email Sandbox for testing and Email Marketing for campaigns are priced separately; marketing starts at $15 a month for 10,000 contacts.
- Overages are capped, so senders far above their plan's volume are told to upgrade.
Key features
- Email API and SMTP
- Send through a REST API with SDKs for Python, PHP, Ruby, Node.js and Java, or through SMTP, with hosted templates and webhooks for opens, clicks and bounces.
- Bulk stream
- Bulk and marketing email goes out on a separate stream, by API or SMTP, so it does not affect the reputation of transactional sending.
- Email Sandbox
- A fake SMTP server catches emails from dev, QA and staging, with HTML and spam checks, sold as separate plans from free for 50 test emails a month.
- Inbound email
- Dedicated inbound addresses, real-time webhooks and API access let your app or AI agents receive email.
- Deliverability analytics
- Stats for each mailbox provider, bounce categories and feedback-loop complaint data, with reputation alerts and dedicated IPs from Business.
- Security and accounts
- Two-factor sign-in and API key permissions on every plan, IP allowlisting from Basic, and SSO and subaccounts from Business.
Mailtrap pricing
- Starts at
- $15 per month for 10,000 emails
- Free plan
- 4,000 emails a month, limited to 150 a day, 1 user, 1 sending domain and 3 days of email logs, through the API or SMTP.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 4,000 emails a month and 150 a day, 1 user, 1 domain, 3 days of logs, no extra emails. |
| Basic | $15per month for 10,000 emails | 3 users, 5 domains, 5 days of logs, email support on weekdays. Extra emails $1 per 1,000. $20 a month at 50,000 emails and $30 at 100,000. |
| Business | $85per month for 100,000 emails | 100 users, 100 domains, 15 days of logs, dedicated IP with warm-up, SSO, subaccounts, 24/7 chat. Extra emails $0.88 per 1,000. |
| Enterprise | $750per month for 1,500,000 emails | Unlimited users and domains, 30 days of logs, priority support. Extra emails $0.55 per 1,000; $1,250 at 2.5 million, custom above. |
Read from mailtrap.io on Oct 18, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Mailtrap before you buy.
Works with
Mailtrap alternatives
- Mailtrap vs Twilio SendGrid
Free trial · from $19.95/mo
- Mailtrap vs Mailgun
Free plan · from $15/mo
- Mailtrap vs Postmark
Free plan · from $15/mo
- Mailtrap vs Resend
Free plan · from $20/mo
- Mailtrap vs MailerSend
Free plan · from $6.30/mo
Common questions
Is Mailtrap free?
Mailtrap has a free plan. 4,000 emails a month, limited to 150 a day, 1 user, 1 sending domain and 3 days of email logs, through the API or SMTP. Paid plans start at $15 per month for 10,000 emails.
How much does Mailtrap cost?
Mailtrap lists 4 plans. Free: $0. Basic: $15 per month for 10,000 emails. Business: $85 per month for 100,000 emails. Enterprise: $750 per month for 1,500,000 emails. Prices were read from mailtrap.io on Oct 18, 2026.
What platforms does Mailtrap work on?
Mailtrap is available on Web.
Does Mailtrap have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Mailtrap is listed for Web.
Does Mailtrap have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Mailtrap is listed for Web.
Is Mailtrap open source?
Mailtrap is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Mailtrap have an API?
Yes. Mailtrap offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Mailtrap integrate with?
Mailtrap's listing names Supabase, Vercel, Claude, Cursor, Windsurf and Antigravity. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Mailtrap?
Mailtrap is made by Railsware.
What are the alternatives to Mailtrap?
The closest alternatives to Mailtrap in our directory are Twilio SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Resend and MailerSend. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Mailtrap.
How does Mailtrap compare with other email sending services?
Mailtrap's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 6 of the 11 other email sending services we grade, and level with 4. It stands best on value for money (B, above 6 of 11) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Is Mailtrap good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Mailtrap B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $15 a month, against a middle price of $15 for the category: 2 of the 10 others that charge start lower. On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Could I make my own version of Mailtrap?
To replace Mailtrap you would be making mail servers with a good name among inbox providers. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $180 a year. What you could not make: Mail servers with a good name among inbox providers. Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox. It plugs into other products, Supabase, Vercel and Claude among them, and has an API. What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on and roles and permissions. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 18, 2026.