SecureSMTP vs WP Mail SMTP
The honest comparison. WP Mail SMTP is a great glue layer for your own SMTP provider. SecureSMTP is the provider itself — relay, DKIM, analytics, and spam protection in one plugin. Here’s the head-to-head.
Replaces both your SMTP plugin AND your sending provider — DKIM aligned to your domain, full delivery analytics on free tier.
Configures your WordPress site to use a separate SMTP provider you bring (Gmail, SendGrid, Mailgun, Brevo, SMTP.com…). Pro tier adds analytics.
TL;DR
Choose SecureSMTP when…
- You don’t want to sign up for Gmail / SendGrid / Mailgun separately
- You want delivery analytics on the free plan
- You’re running multiple WordPress sites and don’t want per-site SMTP setup
- You also need a contact-form solution with built-in spam protection
- You care about DKIM aligned to your own domain, not the provider’s
Stick with WP Mail SMTP when…
- You’re already paying for SendGrid / Mailgun / Postmark and like it
- You need a battle-tested SMTP-config UI specifically — not a full relay
- You’re already in the Awesome Motive ecosystem (OptinMonster, WPForms Pro, etc.)
- You’re comfortable maintaining two services (SMTP plugin + provider)
Feature comparison
Side-by-side on the features that matter to working WordPress sites.
| Feature | SecureSMTP | WP Mail SMTP |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in sending relay | Yes — DKIM aligned, no provider needed | No — you bring your own (Gmail, SendGrid, etc.) |
| DKIM + SPF auto-setup | 3 DNS records, walkthrough in dashboard | Depends on the SMTP provider you choose |
| Free plan analytics | Full: sent / delivered / opened / clicked / bounced | Email log only (no opens, clicks, or geo) |
| AI spam classifier on form submissions | Yes — Claude Haiku, included | No (requires Akismet or reCAPTCHA add-ons) |
| Hosted form builder | Drag-and-drop, included | No (relies on WPForms — separate plugin) |
| Works with CF7, WPForms, Forminator, Elementor, WooCommerce | =Yes — universal wp_mail() interception | =Yes — same level |
| Open tracking + click tracking | Built-in, free plan included | WP Mail SMTP Pro only ($49+/yr) |
| Bounce + complaint webhooks | Built-in, all plans | Depends on the SMTP provider |
| Per-site API key (instant revoke) | Yes, rotateable from dashboard | N/A (SMTP creds at the WP level) |
| Multi-site management | One dashboard for all your client sites | Each site managed separately |
| Pricing scaling | =By submissions/sends per month | =By sites + features tier |
| Owner / company | =Technologia FZE · Sharjah, UAE (independent boutique) | =Awesome Motive · USA (30+ WP plugins ecosystem) |
| Open source plugin | =GPLv2+ on WordPress.org (in review) | =GPLv2+ on WordPress.org |
Pricing — what you actually pay
Includes the cost of the SMTP provider WP Mail SMTP needs you to bring. Estimated based on average per-month equivalent at published rates as of 2026.
SecureSMTP
- Free$0100 form submissions/mo · basic relay · full analytics
- Starter$7/mo1,000 submissions · custom DKIM domain
- Pro$19/mo10,000 submissions · multiple domains · priority support
- Business$49/mo50,000 submissions · raw event API · onboarding
Bills in USD. Free plan has no time limit, no card required.
WP Mail SMTP + provider
- Free (plugin) + Gmail SMTP$0No analytics; Gmail rate limits; risk of deactivation
- Free + SendGrid free$0100 sends/day cap; very limited analytics
- Pro + SendGrid Essentials~$30/moPlugin Pro $49/yr + SendGrid $19.95/mo
- Pro + Mailgun Foundation~$60/moPlugin Pro + Mailgun ~$35/mo + transactional fees
- Pro + Postmark~$25/moPlugin Pro + Postmark $15/mo for 10k sends
Plus per-1k overage on most providers. Per-site limits on WP Mail SMTP Pro tiers.
Migrating from WP Mail SMTP
15 minutes per site. No downtime.
- 1
Sign up
Create a free SecureSMTP account; register your WordPress site to get an API key.
- 2
Install Secure SMTP
Add New → upload our plugin zip → activate. Paste your API key.
- 3
Verify your sending domain
3 DNS records (DKIM + SPF). Done in 5 minutes; verification is automatic.
- 4
Deactivate WP Mail SMTP
After our plugin shows healthy sends in the dashboard, deactivate the old plugin. Email keeps flowing without interruption.
pre_wp_mail — running them simultaneously can produce duplicate sends. Cut over in one step.Common questions
Is SecureSMTP an Awesome Motive product?
No. SecureSMTP is built and operated by Technologia FZE in Sharjah, UAE — fully independent. We’re not part of the WPForms / OptinMonster / All in One SEO family.
Will my existing email setup keep working during migration?
Yes. WP Mail SMTP keeps sending until you deactivate it. We recommend installing SecureSMTP and verifying it’s flowing healthy mail in the dashboard before deactivating WP Mail SMTP — that way you have zero downtime.
Do you support Gmail / Outlook / Office 365 SMTP?
We don’t need to. SecureSMTP is the relay — there’s no separate SMTP server to configure. If you want mail to look like it’s coming from your Google Workspace inbox, set up Google Workspace email forwarding on your domain separately — but for marketing, transactional, and form notifications, our relay with DKIM aligned to your domain has better deliverability than Gmail SMTP anyway.
What about WooCommerce, EDD, Stripe receipts, password resets?
All covered. We intercept wp_mail() at the platform level, so every email WordPress sends — by any plugin — goes through our relay.
Can I see opens and clicks on the free plan?
Yes. WP Mail SMTP makes you pay for Pro to see analytics. We include opens, clicks, bounces, complaints, geo, and per-recipient engagement on every tier including Free.
What if I want to keep using WP Mail SMTP but with a better provider?
Then you don’t need us. WP Mail SMTP + Postmark is a solid combo if you want to manage the provider yourself. We just remove that layer entirely.
Try SecureSMTP free for 15 minutes.
If it doesn’t deliver better than your current WP Mail SMTP + provider combo, uninstall and switch back. Free plan, no card required.