Question

Enable SMTP authentication

I host a website on my DigitalOcean server and I want to send automated emails. But the SMTP lock to be blocked by DigitalOcean. Let me know how to send email


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Bobby Iliev
Site Moderator
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March 14, 2025

Hey Giovanni 👋

Just a heads up — DigitalOcean blocks SMTP port 25 by defaul on all new Droplets to help prevent spam and abuse. Ports 465 and 587 are also often restricted, so even if you’re trying to set up SMTP auth, it might not work out of the box:

https://docs.digitalocean.com/support/why-is-smtp-blocked/

That said, DigitalOcean recommends using a third-party email service like SendGrid, which you can set up easily via their Marketplace 1-Click App. These services handle things like IP reputation and deliverability much better than a self-hosted mail server.

https://marketplace.digitalocean.com/apps/sendgrid

If you really need to send email directly from your Droplet, you could try reaching out to DigitalOcean support and ask if they can lift the block — though in many cases, that’s not possible: 👉 https://do.co/support

Hope that helps!

- Bobby

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