No. 11 of 28 ·Email Testing Software

Ethereal Email

Web · API

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Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.3

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely1 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

Ethereal Email is ranked #11 of 28 in email testing software on Freedom251. It runs on API, Web. There is a free plan.

Ethereal Email plans and pricing

All plans

Ethereal Free 200 messages per hour for public accounts · 100MB storage per address · messages deleted after a few hours ethereal.email · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on email testing software

Free plan: Yes
API access: Yes

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The record

Purpose: Ethereal is a free email-catching service for testing outbound email; it stores messages for review and never delivers them.
Audience: The service is mostly aimed at Nodemailer users, but supports any mail client or library that supports SMTP.
Test accounts: Users can create test accounts with Nodemailer or manually from the login page, and the FAQ says users can create as many as they wish.
Message preview: Users can preview sent messages through a URL from `nodemailer.getTestMessageUrl(info)`, the web interface, or an IMAP/POP3 client.
Protocols: Ethereal provides SMTP, IMAP, and POP3 access; its help page lists STARTTLS for SMTP and TLS for IMAP and POP3.
Retention: Messages are stored for a few hours and then deleted.
Storage quota: Each address has a 100MB message-storage quota.
Sending limit: Public accounts can send up to 200 messages per hour, after which the server temporarily rejects further messages until the next hour.
Inbound email: Inbound email is disabled for public accounts; the help page says inbound access requires an active EmailEngine subscription and an API key.
Security rationale: The help page says inbound email was discontinued for general accounts after the feature was exploited because anonymous accounts were easy to create.
Account access: Creating an account through Nodemailer provides SMTP credentials instantly without signup or email verification.
Integrations and funding: Ethereal is run by the Nodemailer team and funded by EmailEngine, described as a self-hosted email API for Gmail, Microsoft 365, and IMAP.
Support: The FAQ directs users to the help page, Nodemailer documentation, or [email protected] for assistance.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Email Testing Software in 2026#11 of 28

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Sources

ethereal.email/faq· checked 4 Oct 2026
ethereal.email/help· checked 4 Oct 2026
ethereal.email· checked 4 Oct 2026