CHOOSE SMTPBOX WHEN
A hosted team sandbox is the priority.
Distributed teams that want staging and CI inboxes without operating another service.
View SMTPBox pricing →HOSTED VS SELF-HOSTED
SMTPBox vs Mailpit
Mailpit locally. SMTPBox for shared environments.
Both tools capture SMTP messages and offer an API. Choose based on where your tests run and who operates the inbox.
SIDE BY SIDE
Choose the setup that fits.
| Area | SMTPBox | Mailpit |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Managed hosted service | Binary or Docker deployment |
| SMTP capture | Included | Included |
| REST API | Included | Included |
| HTML, text and attachments | Included | Included |
| TLS and authentication | Required for authenticated SMTP | Configurable |
| Infrastructure maintenance | Managed by SMTPBox | Managed by your team |
Reviewed 7 September 2026 against Mailpit feature documentation. Features and limits can change; follow the source for current terms.
CHOOSE MAILPIT WHEN
The alternative better matches your workflow.
Mailpit is a strong fit for local development or self-hosted testing with infrastructure under your control.
Move a test workflow from Mailpit
Replace the local Mailpit hostname and port in staging or CI with smtp.smtpbox.dev and a TLS-enabled port. Add an SMTPBox inbox username and password; local Mailpit may have accepted unauthenticated SMTP. Keep Mailpit locally if that suits your workflow. Its API is not interchangeable with the SMTPBox REST API.
- Create the destination project and inbox in SMTPBox.
- Generate an inbox SMTP credential and update non-production settings.
- Use STARTTLS on 587 or 2525, or implicit TLS on 465.
- Send a synthetic test email and confirm it appears in the expected inbox.
- Adapt automated tests before removing the old test integration.
Use the SMTP setup guide, API reference and framework guides.
TRY SMTPBOX FREE
Catch test emails, not customers.
Start with 2,500 sandbox emails each month and no credit card.
Start testing free →