# Nodemailer review (2026): is it any good? > Free Node.js library for sending email over SMTP and other transports Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Nodemailer is a free module for sending email from Node.js applications, with no runtime dependencies. It sends over SMTP, Sendmail, Amazon SES or streams, and supports attachments, HTML and plain-text bodies, DKIM signing and OAuth2. It is a code library, not a hosted sending service. - **Category:** Email Sending Services - **Made by:** Andris Reinman - **Website:** https://nodemailer.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you don't write code, since it's a library with no screen. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Nodemailer is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Nodemailer | $0 | Free under the MIT-0 license, including commercial use, with no attribution required. | Read from https://nodemailer.com/license on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Nodemailer before buying. ## Key features - **Zero runtime dependencies:** Installs with npm install nodemailer and includes TypeScript definitions, with both ES module and CommonJS builds. - **Multiple transports:** Sends through SMTP, Sendmail, Amazon SES or streams, using a reusable transporter object. - **Messages and attachments:** Builds multipart messages from HTML and plain-text bodies, with attachments, embedded images and full Unicode support. - **Security options:** TLS and STARTTLS are handled automatically, and DKIM signing, OAuth2 authentication and proxy support are included. - **Test accounts:** Integrates with Ethereal, a fake SMTP service, to generate test accounts for local development. ## Good for - Node.js developers who send email through an SMTP server they already have - Projects that want no hosted vendor in the sending path ## Worth knowing - It is a library only: you supply the SMTP server or other transport, and it adds no deliverability tooling or analytics. - Nodemailer 10 requires Node.js 20 or later; older Node.js versions stay on the 9.x line. - The site says development is sustained by EmailEngine licenses, and the library itself is MIT-0 licensed. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Nodemailer is a free module for sending email from Node.js, with no dependencies. It's a code library, not a service, so you bring the mail server and it adds no deliverability tools or analytics. - **Value for money: A.** Free under the MIT-0 license, including for commercial use. Anyone can download it, so it earns the top mark. - **Free plan and trial: A.** Everything is free with no limits, no account and no trial to run out. - **Features: C.** Sends over SMTP, Sendmail, SES or streams, with attachments, DKIM, OAuth2 and test accounts. It does that job fully, but it's a small job: no analytics, no deliverability tools. - **Ease of use: D.** No store rating on record. It's a code library, so you write the code and supply the transport. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** A Node.js library only, with Amazon SES and Ethereal listed. No app, no dashboard. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Nodemailer's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among email sending services - Nodemailer's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 34 of the 50 other email sending services we grade, and level with 11. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 49 of 50) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - Nodemailer has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/email-sending ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Nodemailer is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.6 is higher than 34 of the 50 other email sending services we grade. - You could not: Mail servers with a good name among inbox providers. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Amazon SES and Ethereal among them, and has an API. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Amazon SES, Ethereal **Tags:** Open source, Public API, Transactional email ## Alternatives - [EmailEngine](https://toolgpa.com/tools/emailengine): Self-hosted REST API for Gmail, Microsoft 365 and IMAP mailboxes. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/emailengine-vs-nodemailer) - [Resend](https://toolgpa.com/tools/resend): Developer email API with React Email templates and a free tier. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/nodemailer-vs-resend) - [Postmark](https://toolgpa.com/tools/postmark): Transactional email API and SMTP, with broadcasts on a separate stream. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/nodemailer-vs-postmark) - [Twilio SendGrid](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sendgrid): Twilio's email API and SMTP service, priced by monthly email volume. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/nodemailer-vs-sendgrid) - [Mailgun](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mailgun): Email API and SMTP relay for developers, with list validation. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mailgun-vs-nodemailer) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://nodemailer.com - https://nodemailer.com/license Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/nodemailer Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).