JokoNord most VPS providers block 25 by default now, you file a ticket and they open it after verifying you're not a spammer. KnownHost -- https://www.knownhost.com -- did it in about four hours. If your home ISP blocks it, that's different -- run the mail server on the VPS itself, not from your house. The container lives on the host, port 25 is host port 25.
Three months is the optimistic case. I've seen six. And during warmup you're still losing mail, you just don't know which ones because the receiving end doesn't bounce it, they silently drop. Your users think your app is broken. Your boss thinks you're incompetent. No thanks.
Mailgun used to be 10 bucks for the flex plan, they jacked it to 35 last year. Same with SendGrid. They're all chasing enterprise now, small operators are just funding their sales team lunches.
I've been through this rodeo. Self-hosted mail on a budget host is a hobby, not a solution. You will spend more time on DNS, reputation monitoring, and begging Microsoft to delist you than on your actual project. The real answer is Amazon SES. 10 cents per thousand emails. If you're sending under 50k a month it's laughably cheap and their IPs are pre-warmed.
Member OP
Sven3 SES wants a credit card and their signup process is like applying for a mortgage,,,,, Plus they suspend you at random if your bounce rate hiccups,,,,, I got a friend who got locked out for a week because five addresses in his list were dead,,,,, No thanks
Following this thread closely. I run a 512MB VPS in Lisbon for a tiny community site and my host's IP is clean somehow, but I know my luck will run out. Bookmarking the SES and Mailjet mentions.
Amazon SES is the pragmatic choice but watch the attachment limits and the rate limits when you're new. They start you in a sandbox where you can only send to verified addresses. Took me two days to get out of sandbox, and I had to write a use case essay like I'm in school again.
¡the SES is of the gringos and their bureaucracy! ¡I prefer the fight of the IP own! ¡but I recognize not all have the time of the patience! ¡for the small project the Mailjet free is acceptable if one does not send more of six thousand!
Has anyone tried Migadu? Flat rate, no sending limits beyond fair use, run by actual humans who answer emails. Swiss company. Not the cheapest but you get what you pay for.
Migadu is great until you need to send more than a few hundred a day. Their fair use is murky. I asked them directly, they said "it depends." Not a number I can plan around.
