Side by side
Ethereal Email vs Mailpit
Both stand on email testing software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APIWeb
Choose Ethereal Email to review outbound messages during development, especially if you use Nodemailer or another SMTP-compatible client. Look elsewhere if you need public accounts to receive inbound email or retain messages beyond a few hours.
Visit Ethereal Email
Free plan APILinuxMac+3
Mailpit combines local SMTP delivery, message inspection, and automated testing tools in a free package. Configure SMTP security as needed and account for its default message retention and POP3 limits.
Visit MailpitThe facts
| Ethereal Email | Mailpit | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Web | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | ethereal.email | mailpit.axllent.org |
| On email testing software | #5 of 28 | #9 of 28 |
Ethereal Email: what it does well
- Free plan for catching outbound email.
- Works with SMTP-compatible mail clients and libraries.
- Creates Nodemailer test accounts without signup or email verification.
- Offers web, IMAP, and POP3 message review.
- Provides API access.
What to know first
- Messages are deleted after a few hours.
- Each address has a 100MB storage quota.
- Public accounts are limited to 200 messages per hour.
- Public accounts cannot receive inbound email.
Mailpit: what it does well
- Inspects HTML, source, headers, and MIME attachments.
- Includes HTML compatibility and link checks.
- REST API supports integration testing and message management.
- Can trigger configurable SMTP errors.
- Static binaries and Docker images are available.
What to know first
- Default SMTP has no encryption or authentication.
- Default retention keeps only the latest 500 messages.
- Optional POP3 exposes only the latest 100 messages.
- The UI permits tracking images.
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