Email Deliverability

Our Picks

Start with the first one. It covers the broadest use case in this category. The others are strong alternatives for more specific needs.

FluentSMTP

Start here

4.8 500k+ Free

The best SMTP plugin, period. Everything WP Mail SMTP charges $49/year for, FluentSMTP gives you for free. Open source, actively maintained, and committed to remaining free forever.

Completely free, all features included, no premium version exists

Email logging, multiple connections, fallback routing, all free

10+ mailer integrations (Amazon SES, Gmail, Microsoft 365 via OAuth, Postmark, SendGrid)

Community-based support only (no guaranteed response times)

Email logs can cause database bloat on high-volume sites

WordPress.org

Visual email reporting dashboard

Won WP Awards 2023

Some users report tricky Microsoft 365 OAuth setup

Post SMTP

4.7 400k+ varies by extension

The best SMTP plugin for debugging email issues. If you need to diagnose why emails aren't arriving, Post SMTP's connectivity tester and detailed logs are unmatched. Ideal for sites with complex email configurations.

Best diagnostic tools of any SMTP plugin

Free email logging with detailed delivery status

OAuth 2.0 for Gmail and Microsoft 365 without premium

Interface is cluttered and could be simpler

Steeper learning curve for beginners

WordPress.org

Fallback SMTP connection built in

Slack and mobile app push notifications for failures

Less polished UI than FluentSMTP

Pro from varies by extension

Amazon SES integration

Office 365 API integration

Advanced email reports

Priority support

WP Mail SMTP

4.8 4M+ $49/year

A perfectly functional SMTP plugin with the easiest setup process. But nearly everything in its Pro plan is available for free in FluentSMTP. Recommended only if you specifically value the setup wizard and AwesomeMotive's commercial support.

Easiest setup wizard of any SMTP plugin

15+ mailer integrations

Largest install base means extensive documentation and community support

Email logging, reports, and backup connections all require Pro ($49/year)

Microsoft 365 and Amazon SES integrations are Pro-only

WordPress.org

Gmail OAuth 2.0 setup included in free version

Part of the AwesomeMotive plugin network (cross-promotional)

Features that FluentSMTP offers for free are locked behind the paywall

Pro from $49/year

Full email logging with search

Open and click tracking

Weekly email reports

Backup SMTP connections

Slack and SMS failure alerts

Microsoft 365 and Amazon SES support

The Popular Alternatives

These plugins work and many sites rely on them. We're not saying they're bad. But their dominance often reflects distribution advantages as much as product quality. Understanding why matters.

WP Mail SMTP 4M+

Part of the AwesomeMotive portfolio. Works well, but email logging, reports, and key integrations require Pro ($49/year). Free alternatives like FluentSMTP include those features at no cost.

Think differently

SMTP plugins solve a real problem, but the problem itself is that most hosts don't handle email well. A simple, free SMTP plugin is all most sites need.

Full analysis

By default, WordPress sends emails through PHP’s mail() function, which modern email providers (Gmail, Outlook) routinely flag as spam. This means your contact form notifications, password resets, and WooCommerce order confirmations may never reach anyone’s inbox.

Our general recommendation: Every WordPress site should have an SMTP plugin. It’s a small, unglamorous piece of infrastructure that prevents real problems. The plugin itself just routes emails through a proper SMTP service, and the actual deliverability comes from the service you connect it to (SendGrid, Mailgun, Amazon SES, your host’s SMTP, etc.). Pick a plugin that supports your mail provider and gives you email logs so you can debug delivery issues.

What about WP Mail SMTP?

WP Mail SMTP is the most installed SMTP plugin (4M+ sites) and it works well. The setup wizard is the smoothest in the category. It is part of the AwesomeMotive portfolio, and many useful features (email logging, open/click tracking, backup connections, and Microsoft 365 / Amazon SES integration) are locked behind the Pro version ($49/year). FluentSMTP offers all of these features completely free and open source. Unless you specifically need WP Mail SMTP’s Pro-only features like Slack failure alerts, FluentSMTP gives you more for less.