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SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, a service that allows you to send and receive emails using your domain name. See how to choose the best SMTP host.
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The Best SMTP Hosting of 2023
Almost everyone uses Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) for sending email, making it a standard feature in most hosting packages. But not all web hosting providers are ideal for using it.
The best SMTP hosts offer reasonable outgoing message size limits and unlimited email storage. Also, it needs webmail access with a well-designed email client and helps configure the third-party email client of your choosing. Below is a summary of the best three hosts for SMTP hosting based on customer ratings and expert analysis:
Our Top Picks
Best SMTP Host For Unlimited Email Accounts
Best SMTP Host For Security and Anti-Spam
Best SMTP Host For Customer Support
Digital.com dives deep into every topic it covers to offer trusted and reliable recommendations for the best business tools. See how we review SMTP hosts.
The Best SMTP Hosting of 2023
Features
- Free domain-specific email addresses
- Advanced security options
- Free Cloudflare integration
#1 Top Pick for 2023
Why it’s best
If you need many email accounts, Bluehost has you covered.
Price
$2.95 per month
Money-Back Guarantee
30 Days
24-7 Support
Yes
Free Migration
WordPress Only
Read More
Reasons to choose Bluehost
- Free anti-spam solutions
- Lots of hosting options
- Digital security features offered
Reasons to avoid
- Fee for migrating from another host
- Long wait times for tech support
With Bluehost, you’ll get unlimited email accounts and email storage on all but the cheapest of its shared hosting plans. Like SiteGround, Bluehost also has secure POP3 and IMAP support.
Its e-mail server is compatible with third-party clients like Roundcube so you won’t have to enter your control panel whenever you check your email.
Bluehost also gives you unique user account controls so your team can manage their e-mails however they want.
Bluehost is a reputable provider offering shared and VPS hosting. Its services are easy to use, affordable, and have decent uptime. Bluehost gears its services toward entrepreneurs and small online startups. Billing might be confusing, but they have solid customer service for any issues.
Features
- Free email hosting
- Email migrator tool
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
Price
$2.99 per month
Money-Back Guarantee
30 Days
24-7 Support
Yes
Free Migration
Yes
Read More
Reasons to choose SiteGround
- CDN included on all hosting packages
- Premium support for small businesses
- Over 18 years of experience
Reasons to avoid
- No dedicated or virtual private servers (VPS)
SiteGround offers competitive pricing, industry-leading features, quality security, notable support, and a focus on continuous improvement.
They also provide a customized hosting solution for managing unlimited email accounts on your domain.
To simplify your life, the company has added custom solutions (third-party in addition to its own) to ensure your email experience is fast, secure, and spam-free. For example, it will give you anti-spam solutions like SpamExperts enabled by default. And, easily manage your e-mail from the user-friendly control panel. Its email hosting supports SMTP, POP3, and IMAP.
SiteGround is a reliable web hosting company with fast speeds, a user-friendly interface, and solid customer service. Some customers are not thrilled with the price increase and back-end support, though.
Features
- Unlimited email addresses
- Free site migration
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
Price
$2.99 per month
Money-Back Guarantee
30 Days
24-7 Support
Yes
Free Migration
Yes
Read More
Reasons to choose A2 Hosting
- 24/7 support availability
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
Reasons to avoid
- Long-term contracts
Similar in price to both Bluehost and SiteGround, A2 Hosting also provides great e-mail hosting support. Even its cheapest shared hosting comes with unlimited e-mail accounts and storage.
Your A2 Hosting control panel makes SMTP hosting and email management easy to configure POP3 or IMAP for your favorite email client or access your mail with the pre-installed webmail software.
A2 is a reliable, affordable hosting company that has fast speeds. The customer service is generally responsive but could use more updated tutorials and documentation.
What Is SMTP?
At its core, SMTP is simply a set of instructions used by servers (your own or those of your Internet Service Provider (ISP)) to determine how to send mail and who may send it. It was developed in response to threats of widespread email “spam.”
SMTP servers increase email security by enacting the following protocols:
- Automatic virus scanning on outgoing messages
- Filters that limit access to outgoing mail servers to customers only
- Including a traceable Internet Protocol (IP) address linked to message senders
An SMTP relay that has been secured properly will not accept e-mails from non-local IP addresses to non-local mailboxes when they are from an unauthorized user. SMTP authentication is necessary for e-mail clients, like Windows Mail, to identify themselves to a mail server.
Compare SMTP Hosting Providers
Bluehost is our top choice because it’s a reputible hosting provider that offers unlimited email accounts and advanced security options.
SMTP Host
Best Features
Pricing
Best For Unlimited Email Accounts
- Free domain-specific email addresses
- Advanced security options
- Free Cloudflare integration
$2.95 per month
Best For Security and Anit-Spam
- Free email hosting
- Email migrator tool
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
$2.99 per month
Best For Customer Support
- Unlimited email addresses
- Free site migration
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
$2.99 per month
What You Need to Know
What is SMTP?
SMTP stands for simple mail transfer protocol. It is the standard protocol used to send email messages.
How does SMTP work?
When you compose and send an email message, your email software opens a connection to an SMTP server. This normally involves logging in using a password.
To transmit the email, your software sends text-based commands, including details about the sender, recipient, and content. The server confirms each command, and once the message has been received successfully, it uses DNS records to find out the IP address where the email should be delivered.
Is SMTP secure?
Not always. If you want to ensure that nobody can read your emails in transit, use PGP encryption.
What is the difference between SMTP and POP3/IMAP?
SMTP is for sending email. POP3 and IMAP are for receiving email.
Are there any alternatives to SMTP?
There are some vendor-specific alternatives to SMTP, but these aren’t offered with regular web hosting accounts.
Where do I find the SMTP settings for my hosting company?
Before you sign up for a web hosting account, check that email service is included. Some hosts do not allow you to create email addresses alongside your web hosting files. Assuming you can create email addresses, you must create mailboxes in your hosting control panel. Then ask your host for the necessary server information to connect to it.
How We Review The Best SMTP Hosts
We’ve reviewed over 1,500 hosting plans and selected the ones which meet the most generous SMTP requirements. We shortlisted the hosts which offer unlimited email storage, decent message size limits, a good email client, and easy-to-use instructions for setting it up.
When looking for an SMTP host, consider the following features:
Learn more about our review methodology.