# WP Mail SMTP review (2026): is the free plan enough? > WordPress plugin that routes site email through an SMTP provider Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. WP Mail SMTP is a WordPress plugin that replaces the default PHP mail function with a connection to an email provider such as SendLayer, Brevo, Gmail or Amazon SES. The free edition handles the connection; the paid Pro edition adds email logs, reports, open and click tracking, backup connections and routing rules. - **Category:** Email Sending Services - **Made by:** WPForms, LLC - **Website:** https://wpmailsmtp.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you don't run WordPress, as it only works inside it. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, WP Mail SMTP has a free plan, and paid plans start at $99 per year for 1 site at renewal, after a first year for $49. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Free plugin on WordPress.org: setup wizard and connections to most mailers; logging, reports and backup connections are Pro only. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Lite | $0 | Free plugin from WordPress.org with the setup wizard and most mailer connections. Amazon SES, Microsoft and Zoho need Pro. | | Pro | $99 per year for 1 site, renewing at full price | Email log, reports, tracking, backup connections, smart routing and failure alerts. First year $49 on the pricing page. | | Elite | $149 per year for 1 site, renewing at full price | Everything in Pro plus White Glove Setup by the vendor's experts and priority support. First year $99. | | Developer | $249 per year for 20 sites, renewing at full price | Pro features for 20 sites with priority support. First year $199. | | Agency | $449 per year for 100 sites, renewing at full price | Pro features for 100 sites with priority support. First year $399. | Read from https://wpmailsmtp.com/pricing/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with WP Mail SMTP before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **First-year introductory prices** (Other savings): The pricing page shows each paid plan $50 below its regular yearly price (Pro $49, Elite $99, Developer $199, Agency $399) and says renewals are at full price. Source: https://wpmailsmtp.com/pricing/ ## Key features - **Mailer connections:** Connects WordPress to providers such as SendLayer, SMTP.com, Brevo, Mailgun, Postmark, SendGrid and any other SMTP server, using the provider's API where there is one. - **Setup wizard:** A guided wizard in the free plugin walks through choosing and configuring a mailer. - **Email log and reports:** Pro keeps a record of every email sent from the site, with delivery status, and charts of deliverability statistics. - **Open and click tracking:** Pro shows open and click rates for emails that WordPress sends. - **Backup connections and smart routing:** Pro can fall back to a second provider if the first fails, and route different emails through different providers using conditional rules. - **Failure alerts:** Pro sends an alert when an email fails to send. ## Good for - WordPress sites whose emails go to spam or never arrive - Site owners who want to pick their own sending provider - Agencies managing many client sites under one multi-site license ## Worth knowing - Runs only inside WordPress; it is not a standalone sending service and needs a separate email provider account. - Email logging, reports, tracking, backup connections and routing are Pro features, not part of the free plugin. - Pro prices on the page are introductory: the page says renewals are at full price, $99 a year for 1 site. - The pricing page states a 14-day money-back guarantee on paid plans. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. WP Mail SMTP replaces WordPress's default mail function with a connection to a provider like Brevo, Gmail or SendLayer. The free plugin does the connection, but logs, reports, tracking and backups are Pro, which renews at $99 a year. - **Value for money: B.** Pro is $99 a year for 1 site, about $8.25 a month, with $49 for the first year. That's inside the cheapest quarter of email sending tools, which start at $9. - **Free plan and trial: B.** The Lite plugin is free, with a setup wizard and most mailer connections. Amazon SES, Microsoft and Zoho, plus the email log, need Pro. - **Features: C.** Mailer connections and a setup wizard on free. Email log, reports, open and click tracking, backup connections and routing are Pro only. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You install it in WordPress and connect an account with a separate mail provider. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Runs inside WordPress and connects to SendLayer, SMTP.com, Brevo, SES, Mailgun, Postmark, SendGrid and Gmail. No standalone app. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from WP Mail SMTP'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 - WP Mail SMTP'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 (B, above 35 of 50) and worst on features (C, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $8.25 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $15 for the category: 8 of the 41 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 4 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/email-sending ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace WP Mail SMTP 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 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. It costs $99 a year. - You could make: Reports: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: Mail servers with a good name among inbox providers. - You could not: It plugs into other products, SendLayer, SMTP.com and Brevo among them. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with SendLayer, SMTP.com, Brevo, Amazon SES, Mailgun, Postmark, SendGrid, Gmail **Tags:** Transactional email, Reports ## Alternatives - [FluentSMTP](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fluentsmtp): Free WordPress plugin for sending site email through your provider. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fluentsmtp-vs-wp-mail-smtp) - [Post SMTP](https://toolgpa.com/tools/post-smtp): WordPress SMTP plugin with email logs, alerts and backup mailers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/post-smtp-vs-wp-mail-smtp) - [SendLayer](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sendlayer): Transactional email over SMTP or API, aimed at WordPress sites. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/sendlayer-vs-wp-mail-smtp) - [SMTP.com](https://toolgpa.com/tools/smtp-com): SMTP relay and email API sold in monthly volume plans from 50,000. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/smtp-com-vs-wp-mail-smtp) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://wpmailsmtp.com/pricing/ - https://wpmailsmtp.com - https://wpmailsmtp.com/features/ - https://wpmailsmtp.com/about-us/ - https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-mail-smtp/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/wp-mail-smtp Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).