I have a Node.js app running on a DigitalOcean Droplet and I need to send transactional emails, things like password resets, signup confirmations, and billing receipts.
I know DigitalOcean blocks port 25 by default so running my own mail server is off the table. I have been looking at a few options but not sure which one is worth going with.
What are people actually using in production? I have seen Mailgun, Postmark, Amazon SES, and a few smaller ones mentioned. Curious about real experience with deliverability and pricing at small to medium scale.
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Hi there,
Good question and one that comes up a lot. Since DigitalOcean blocks outbound port 25 by default, a dedicated SMTP service is the right call.
Here is what people generally use in production:
If you want something simple and focused purely on fast, reliable SMTP delivery, smtpfa.st is worth a look. It is built specifically for transactional sending and straightforward to integrate.
Postmark is excellent for transactional email. Deliverability is very good and the API is clean, but it is on the pricier side.
Mailgun is a solid middle ground, reasonable pricing and decent deliverability, though their support has gotten mixed reviews over the years.
For most small to medium SaaS apps, any of these will do the job. The bigger win is making sure your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are set up correctly regardless of which provider you pick.
Heya, @e3002a14a547406799fe27a6abf211
You can open a support ticket and request the SMTP restriction to be lifted on your Droplet and they’ll usually do it if your account has some history and you explain the use case.
- Or use a service like https://smtpfa.st/, SendGrid, Mailgun, or Postmark, much better for deliverability anyway. They allow SMTP over API, which is a good workaround and better for performance too
Hope that this helps!
Heya, @e3002a14a547406799fe27a6abf211
You can use services like smtpfast, Mailgun and Sendgrid. They all work fine and are realeble. It’s just providers like smtpfast and the others might have some cool built-in features which you can use for netter experience.
Regards
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