SMTP plugins for WordPress: Which to choose in 2024?

This article covers an in-depth review of four different SMTP plugins for WordPress to see which one is the best in terms of functionality, does not cost you money, is reliable and performant enough not to cause any slowdowns for your WordPress website.

E-mail sending from WordPress has long been an important topic because WordPress itself does not offer an easy-to-use mechanism to configure the service for outgoing e-mails properly nor also it have a graphical user interface for controlling and monitoring this stuff.

WordPress SMTP plugins – Comparison Chart

This comparison chart covers only free versions of these e-mail delivery plugins. As my goal is to show you “What’s best in the market where you do not have to pay“, I’m excluding any premium features from my review.

Post SMTP

WordPress Plugin Page: https://wordpress.org/plugins/post-smtp/
Website URL: https://postmansmtp.com/

Post SMTP (ex Postman) is a plugin with which I had a long and stable relationships (sadly, not the case anymore). I’ve used it for more than 7 years and even contributed to it as a translator (Latvian language). What I like most about it is that it includes everything you need for e-mail service management in WordPress – E-mail Log, Delivery failover mechanism, alert notifications when something gets broken, and even some advanced configuration stuff like BCC/CC recipients, an option to add a custom Reply-To address and additional e-mail headers in general.

The plugin has a nice setup wizard and it does not aggressively ask users to upgrade to a Premium version. It also comes with additional nice features like Import / Export options for settings and the Diagnostics section, where you can debug the connectivity issues.

What I don’t like about the Post SMTP and why I would not recommend it anymore in 2024:

• Recently discovered security vulnerabilities which led to thousands of websites being hacked and poor coding practice in the past;
• Some minor PHP compatibility issues and its relatively large “carbon footprint” in terms of file inclusions, file count, and plugin directory size;

VERDICT: Post SMTP was my TOP choice in the past. While it has a nice set of features I do not recommend it anymore because of its recent security issues (this is very important to me!) and the fact that there are better alternatives out there.

WP Mail SMTP

WordPress Plugin Page: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-mail-smtp/
Website URL: https://wpmailsmtp.com/

This is one of the oldest WordPress SMTP plugins along with the highest user base which marks it as a leader and self-evident TOP1 choice in the market. However, what looks shiny and popular is not always the best. The free version of the plugin is cut down to a basic functionality. In fact, it is so cut down that you’d need to seriously consider if you really want to install it or better go for some custom-coded solution. No e-mail log, no backup delivery mechanisms, no alert system for failed deliveries + what makes it complete trash (at least its free version) is its intrusive policy of advertising its premium version and asking the user to pay almost in every possible section.

Performance-wise it seems to be 50% more efficient than Post SMTP, but what gives efficiency if it does not provide essential functionality?

VERDICT: With better alternatives in the market, there is not a single reason to choose WP Mail SMTP and even pay for it. A highly overrated plugin with an apparent “money over customers” ideology. My advice: Stay away from it. 🙂

Easy WP SMTP

WordPress Plugin Page: https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-wp-smtp/
Website URL: https://easywpsmtp.com/

This plugin seems to be a ripoff of WP Mail SMTP because its user interface and advertising approach of their premium version, including the prices seem to be almost identical. Also the feature set is no different – still no e-mail logs, no backup delivery mechanism, no advanced configuration options or alert system for delivery failures. It is interesting that it still has one of the largest user bases. Also if we compare it to WP Mail SMTP, this one seems to be a bit more heavier in terms of file count, plugin size and number of file inclusions.

VERDICT: Same story as with WP Mail SMTP as it is basically a clone. I do not recommend it.

Fluent SMTP – 🥇 Editor’s choice

WordPress Plugin Page: https://wordpress.org/plugins/fluent-smtp/
Website URL: https://fluentsmtp.com/

Fluent SMTP is a new player in the market which was first released only two years ago, but it is unbelievably well made. Just by comparing the stats, it seems that developers has put an enormous effort to beat the sh*t out of its competitors with making each and every feature better than anyone else could ever do it.

It has all the necessary core features – E-mail Log, Backup mechanism for e-mail delivery, Ability to add different kinds of Mail services (including Mailgun and Google Workspace), and an intuitive and minimalistic interface – all completely for free with an enterprise-quality code, without any traces of ads whatsoever!

Performance wise, it is also the best choice without a question – the plugin makes only ~20 file inclusions on the visible part of the website and its user interface works instantly fast.

Additional perk – it allows you to save the e-mail configuration in WordPress configuration file.

The only cons I could find is that it is missing advanced configuration options (like Post SMTP has) and the choice of alert mechanism for failed deliveries, but that is not necessary as long as you have a backup delivery mechanism added in the configuration.

VERDICT: Fluent SMTP is an absolute must have for any kind of WordPress projects – Minimalistic, fast, easy to setup, professionally coded and without ads. Anything better you could only get with a custom coded solution.

Conclusions

By taking a close look at the four most downloaded WordPress SMTP plugins it is clear that the market has changed only a bit over the years. Fluent SMTP in this review is a “fresh blood” which seems to replace the once-great Post SMTP plugin and leave itself as the only TOP1 choice for this year.

FAQ: E-mail sending from WordPress