When you send an email, the path that it takes does not follow a straight line. It does not typically travel straight from the sender to the recipient, but rather goes through several transactional steps in a clearly ordered process.
In this process, the main player is the participating SMTP server.
They make sure that the email reaches the recipient according to protocol. There is an entire network of these SMTP servers on the internet, making the movement of email traffic possible.
What is an SMTP Server?
An SMTP server refers to a mail server that serves the purpose of forwarding emails from a sender to one or more recipients. It does this in accordance with the network protocol regulations across the internet. An important function of the SMTP port is to help avoid spam messages.
This is done through the use of authentication mechanisms that are in place to ensure that only authorised users deliver emails. To achieve this, most modern mail servers support the ESMTP protocol extension with SMTP-Auth.I
These ‘relays’ or SMTP servers provide an essential link in the transmission process of email, in which several different servers are involved. These include the outgoing mail server of the sender, one or more external forwarding servers, and the incoming mail server of the recipient.
Is SMTP Server Free?
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol or SMTP is an international electronic standard for email transmission. A free SMTP server is used by nearly all emails. When an email lands in your inbox, it has most likely been sent from an SMTP server. There are several free SMTP service providers to choose from, which include:
- SendinBlue
- Pepipost
- Pabbly
- Elastic Emails
- SendPulse
- Mailify
- MailJet
- WP Mail
- Google Mail
- Amazon SES
- Mandrill
- Mailgun
- Mailtrap Email API
- Google SMTP Server
- Postmark
- Spark Post
- SendGrid
How to Create Free SMTP Server
SMTP servers can be an ideal method to send emails, but it is not always easy to know the best solution for your business when it comes to choosing between a hosted SMTP server provider or building an onsite solution or email sandbox.
An SMTP server is an application that is designed to help senders send and receive email communication. When you send an email message, the SMTP server determines which servers will receive your relay messages. Inbox providers on the recipient’s end then download the content of your email, before it is delivered to the inbox.
When setting up a free SMTP server, you can either use a hosted SMTP relay server service provider or build a solution onsite. It is possible to create a free and simple SMTP server in macOS, Windows 10, or Linux.
However, these servers are usually only best used for testing purposes since there is a lack of scalability with the servers, which may result in poor delivery rates.
How to Get Free SMTP Server
When deciding which route you are going to take for your free SMTP server address, it’s important to weigh up all the pros and cons. Sure, you can take the DIY route but much like doing your own electrical work or plumbing on your home, opting for DIY when it comes to your SMTP server can also have significant advantages and disadvantages.
Support, cost, and scalability are just some of the major factors that you will need to keep in mind when it comes to determining whether or not putting the work into creating your SMTP server is going to be worth your time and effort.
Onsite SMTP Server Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Improve your deliverability with manual monitoring and adjusting of your sending practices
- Complete control over the setup and system
- Set up your own authentication protocols
Cons:
- No access to extra support if the process goes wrong when setting up authentication
- No access to a true support system, which could lead to extended and harmful outages
- You need to maintain the server consistently to keep up with constantly changing email deliverability
How to Setup Free SMTP Server
In order to build and set up an SMTP server free of charge, you will need a domain name and a VPS server with port 25 opened. The domain name will be the suffix of the email that you are sending messages from. This will usually be your website domain name.
However, it’s important to bear in mind that if you plan to send cold emails and mail messages where there will be a higher risk of your email getting spam complaints, it may be a wise idea to use a similar, relevant domain name that is different to your website domain to avoid the risk of your main business domain being blacklisted.
A VPS server is a server that runs in the cloud. You can purchase this from cloud services or web hosting companies. It can be used to host websites or run machines 24/7 in the cloud to perform tasks.
The VPS needs to have port 25 opened, but what does this mean exactly? Simply put, any network software or service uses ports to communicate over the network or the internet. SMTP software or protocol uses port 25 to communicate, which is why this port needs to be opened.
Once you have chosen your VPS company, you will need to set up a VPS server with Ubuntu 18×64 as your operating system. You can start with 2GB RAM and 1CPU as there will always be the option to upgrade later if needed. Then, connect your server using an SSH client such as bitvise or putty.
Check your hostname; you should see something.yourdomain.com. At this stage, choosing secure VPS with SSH not only protects your server against unauthorized access but also establishes a secure foundation for your email campaigns, keeping your communications smooth and your main domain safe.
Then, head to your domain provider account and map your domain to the VPS. To do this, go to the DNS management section and create a new record with your server name in the host section and your server IP address in the points to section.
Now, you are ready to start the installation process. To do this, you will need to install SMTP software. You can choose from several different options or email provider. Follow the instructions provided with the SMTP software that you choose, or you can find several online guides to help you get set up with different software options.
Don’t opt for fake SMTP servers, always double check your outgoing SMTP server before you proceed with search operators or marketing messages.
Finally, you are ready to create your business email. This is the email address that you are going to use as your sender address. You will need to create a virtual server using your Domain name to do this.
Once you have created your virtual server, simply click on the option to edit users or similar and add a user to the server. Enter any email that you want, and you now have a free business email to use for sending messages.
What is the Best Free SMTP Server?
While there might be a higher upfront cost for those who decide to purchase a cloud-based solution for their SMTP server, it’s important to bear in mind that an external SMTP server isn’t something that you can simply set and forget.
Not only does it take time and often money to build, but you will also need to invest time and effort into maintaining it. This could end up costing you more than you realise since you will need to hire somebody who can manage the server full time, troubleshoot errors, and update the software and hardware when needed.
An onsite SMTP server might be a better solution for you if you do not want to scale your SMTP email server to accommodate thousands or even tens of thousands of emails and only plan to send a few hundred emails at a time.
However, if you have plans to grow your email strategy so that you are communicating regularly with thousands or even hundreds of thousands of customers, then scaling an onsite solution to deal with this can be very challenging and may end up being much more expensive to manage than you realise, particularly when it comes to the potential revenue that you could lose.
Hosted SMTP server solutions like SendGrid or SendinBlue can be relied on since they have spent years getting their SMTP server to a point where it can easily be scaled to send billions of bulk emails per day or emails per month, and message content.
Along with this, another reason to consider a hosted SMTP server solution is the access to additional support that they offer. If something goes wrong with your email program when using a hosted solution, you will have access to expert customer support teams who can help you with anything that might be causing problems with your email campaign.
Be it bounce rates, wrong incoming messages’ format, inactive email lists, wrong email templates, problems with remote server or domain server, and more problems with email settings.
You can get support with anything from monitoring your deny listings to compliance with regulations from the best-hosted solutions, which is why this is the top choice for many businesses as they find it invaluable to have a team of experts at their disposal at any time.
While you can use free SMTP services like Outlook or Gmail, they are not designed to send large volumes of emails. Choosing a free SMTP service designed for email marketing or setting up your own free onsite SMTP server is a better option.
FAQs About SMTP Server
What is an SMTP Server?
An SMTP Server, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Server, is a software application responsible for sending, receiving, and relaying outgoing email messages over the internet. It plays a crucial role in the email delivery process.
How does the SMTP Server handle Outgoing Email?
The SMTP Server manages Outgoing Email by accepting messages from Email Clients or Mail User Agents and then delivering them to the recipients’ Mailbox Providers or Mail Transfer Agents for further processing and delivery.
Is a Backup Server necessary for an SMTP Server?
Having a Backup Server is beneficial for an SMTP Server as it ensures redundancy and high availability in relay service. If the primary mail client server experiences issues, the backup server can take over, preventing email delivery disruptions even in third-party services or custom email address.
What are SMTP Settings, and why are they important?
SMTP Settings are configuration parameters for email protocols that specify how an Email Service Provider connects to an SMTP Server for sending emails (e.g., with the correct Yahoo SMTP settings). These settings include the SMTP Email Server Address, port number (post office protocol), internet standard, command prompt, encryption type (like Transport Layer Security), and authentication credentials.
How does an SMTP Server handle Transactional Emails?
An SMTP Server handles Transactional Emails, which are automated messages triggered by specific user actions, by delivering them in real-time or near-real-time to ensure timely communication with users.
Can Third-Party Email Services use an SMTP Server?
Yes, Third-Party Email Services can use an SMTP Server to send outgoing messages on behalf of their users. They integrate with the SMTP Server using the appropriate SMTP connections to ensure efficient email delivery of billions of emails or bulk email transmissions.
