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For those who host email: do you use an SMTP relay?
I have been using inbox.eu for a few months and I like it, but I had to add several more mailboxes so I switched back to self hosting with Mailcow (last time I used Mailu but this time I'm back with Mailcow since it's a better package), with a budget KVM server from GreenCloud that costs only $45/yr so it's quite a bit cheaper.
I have been using Zoho Zepto as SMTP relay for quite a while with self hosted email since the deliverability is great and it costs only 2.50 per credit if i remember correctly, and each credit is for a whopping 10k email and expires in 6 months. Really a bargain.
However I was curious to try delivering emails directly without a relay and of course ran into trouble with Google and Microsoft. That's not a surprise of course. So the question is, why bother with IP reputation, blocklists and all the rest when there is Zepto and possibly other alternatives that are so cheap and have great deliverability?
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I have been using zepto as mail and they are really good guys. In one case a piece of code sent a few thousand emails to my Gmail address bcoz of a bug
I even reached out to zepto immediately, telling them about the error since only a partial number of emails had gotten through but they didn't mind and in I think 2 or 3 days around 99% were delivered. If u r not doing high volumes of mail then zepto is great.
The only downsides is no marketing, etc but that's with majority of mail providers except ses which has the same product for marketing and transaction.
Yeah I only use this for personal domains, so low volume and no marketing, so all good so far. I really like the service. That's why I am asking what's the point of dealing with the deliverability hassle when we have this kind of service. So easy, cheap and great deliverability. No brainer for me really.
Exactly. Unless you intend to scale your message volume to the point where google and microsoft actually bother to calculate your reputation, relays are a much easier option. My mail server delivers enough (maybe a 1000 per day) to the google and microsoft that I have been able to build a good reputation and get mail delivered, but not everyone will scale to that point.
Do not try to deliver your personal, low volume email without a relay. That battle has been lost for at least a decade already.
many vps ban the 25 port just as i known
I use Sendinblue (now Brevo) because it's completely free for up to 300 mails per day IIRC. Works great with my Mail-in-a-Box setup.
Nah im just raw dogging smtp on colocrossing AMA
Is mxroute suitable for this?
Yes
mxroute + mailcow, can recommend.
Very much this, even if you set everything up correctly, you will get marked as spam. Which can cause serious issues, as no one expects personal emails in spam folders, and I strongly believe not even half the world regularly checks their spam folder.
How long has this server been sending emails and do your emails ever end up in the spam folder of the receivers?
I think it doesn't make much sense to use a full blown email hosting service just to send. That's why I am using Zepto. It's also cheaper.
Currently use SMTP2GO for al my transactional email usage (Email verification, password reminders, email notification, and so on)
Pay 10 USD / month for 10k send email
My clients send about 100 emails / day via my servers not hosting email accounts it self
Agreed on price but if someone wants to use mxroute as a relay then it does work very well as a relay. This might be ideal if you for example are already idling a long commitment black friday deal from them.
SES for me, signup was a faff as it is definitely not aimed at personal email, but once past that it’s basically free
I was sending without a relay for about a decade before, with 90% or so success at hitting inbox, but all that goodwill was tied to an old Kimsufi IP so eventually I had to let it go. I don't miss the extra stress
This is exactly why I asked. Based on Vitto's post, zepto costs $5/y meanwhile @jar offers the same price every black Friday. The price even went to $3/y last bf, but I understand people didn't manage to catch that deal.
The IP address for my GreenCloud VPS shows up as "Junked due to user complaints or other evidence of spamming" in Microsoft's Smart Network Data Service, so I am not actually using that one for emails (not sure what their evidence could be based on).
In most cases you have to contact Outlook support to get your IP address unblocked, but after that it's usually fine. Don't think I have had significant issues with Google.
There are, of course, other email hosters who block entire ASNs, but don't even have a proper support contact to get your server unblocked - these might be a bigger pain to deal with.
5+ years, very rarely.
Why nobody is using VPS/Servers for Legitimate SMTP use ? I use my own SMTP server into my vps servers using TSL on port 587 and no issues
Sometimes, emails might not go through or be received due to IP quality issues or if the VPS gets attacked, especially if the IP has been abused before. I personally prefer SaaS.
You don’t have any issues because you don’t send bulk emails. Gmail and Outlook will block self-hosted SMTP servers if you send too many emails.
That’s why we use a third-party service, they monitor IP reputation and ensure emails don’t end up in the junk folder.
Not right. I have a self hosted SMTP for the last 8 years. Same IP and approx 30 domains. Sending in total few thousands daily emails. Everything from BULK transactions mails and Marketing.
I remember that i had to go trough small hassle with Microsoft (Microsoft's Smart Network Data Service) and get myself verified or something like that... It took a week to get that done.
What is Bulk to you how much ?