FluentSMTP – WP SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, MailGun, Postmark, Google and Any SMTP Provider Review - In-Depth Analysis
FluentSMTP is a free WordPress SMTP plugin that connects with various email service providers. It ensures reliable email delivery and offers features like email logging and routing.
Performance Overview
User Rating
4.8/5 (based on 407+
reviews)
Active Installations
700,000+
Update Frequency
Below Average
It is calculated using the weighted average of same category
plugins.
Security Score
6.4 / 10
(Medium Risk)
It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.
What It Does
FluentSMTP is the ultimate WordPress SMTP plugin designed to solve email deliverability issues. It connects seamlessly with popular email service providers like Amazon SES, SendGrid, and Mailgun, ensuring your emails reach their destination securely and quickly.
This plugin is completely free and open source, built to enhance your email sending capabilities. With FluentSMTP, you can easily configure multiple email connections and route your emails based on the sender address.
FluentSMTP also provides real-time email logging, detailed reporting, and the ability to resend failed emails. Its user-friendly interface is powered by VueJS, making it easy for anyone to use without a steep learning curve.
Comparing to Alternatives
FluentSMTP competes in a crowded SMTP plugin category, but it stands out for bundling features—like detailed email logs and multiple provider support—that many competitors reserve for paid tiers. Alternatives range from established names like WP Mail SMTP and Post SMTP to newer entrants like SureMail and Site Mailer.
Strengths
- Free plugin includes email logs and features often paywalled elsewhere
- Supports a wide range of providers including Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, and Gmail
- No ads or aggressive upsells noted by users
- Strong reputation for responsive, helpful support
- Consistently updated and actively maintained
Weaknesses
- Notification of delivery failures is not real-time for all users, unlike some competitors offering instant alerts
- History of multiple security vulnerabilities compared to some alternatives with cleaner records
User Sentiment Analysis
With 403 ratings and a 4.8/5 average, FluentSMTP enjoys overwhelmingly positive sentiment—92.8% of reviews are 5-star, and only 4.2% fall into the 1-2 star range. The tone across recent reviews is enthusiastic, frequently praising ease of setup and the plugin's free feature set.
Positive highlights
- "Fluent SMTP is not just a name... comes with features that 'Pro' versions of other SMTP plugins demand you pay to receive" — flexserve
- "I've tried many over the years but the last 4 or 5 years I've only used FluentSMTP... Cracking plugin, excellent features, easy to configure" — kentsteve
- "Easy to set up and completely free, this tool supports multiple connections... comprehensive email logging with search and resend capabilities" — ambri
- "After struggling for some time to get WP to send emails from forms, I came across FluentSMTP – and it just works" — roberteadie
- "I had a nearly telepathic experience with Fluent support" — julesheadspace
Weaknesses
- No 1-2 star reviews were available to identify specific recurring complaints, though one 3-star review noted delayed error notifications as a drawback for professional/client use
- The plugin's history includes several notable vulnerabilities, including a high-severity unauthenticated stored XSS issue patched in 2.3.0
Who Should Use This?
Best for
FluentSMTP is a strong fit for site owners and developers who want a free, feature-rich SMTP solution with built-in email logging, multiple provider support, and an easy setup process—without hitting a paywall for core functionality.
Not ideal for
Users managing mission-critical client sites who need instant failure alerts may find the notification delays limiting. Given the plugin's history of several patched vulnerabilities, site owners should also ensure they stay diligent about updates rather than running outdated versions.
Pricing & Value
Free version includes
The free version includes support for numerous SMTP providers (Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Google, and more), detailed email logs with resend capability, visual statistics, and email testing—features many competitors lock behind premium plans.
Final Verdict
FluentSMTP earns its strong reputation through a generous free feature set, ease of use, and reliable performance across a wide range of setups. User sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, with reviewers repeatedly highlighting that it delivers functionality—like email logs and multi-provider support—that many alternatives reserve for paid tiers. The near-absence of low-rated reviews further reinforces its reliability for everyday use.
That said, the plugin's security history warrants attention: six recorded vulnerabilities, including a high-severity XSS issue patched as recently as 2.3.0, mean users must stay current with updates. Weighed against a crowded field of alternatives like WP Mail SMTP, Post SMTP, and SureMail, FluentSMTP remains a compelling free choice, provided administrators maintain good update hygiene.
Other Notable Features
Here are a few other notable features of this free
FluentSMTP – WP SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, MailGun, Postmark, Google and Any SMTP Provider plugin.
FAQ
Yes. That is what the plugin is for: it takes over wp_mail() and sends through the SMTP server or email service you connect.
Yes. Add your SES access key and secret key, and FluentSMTP sends through the Amazon SES API rather than SMTP.
Yes, when you create your connection you can choose how you want to store your connection credential. You can store at database or store at wp-config.php (recommended) file.
Yes, FluentSMTP let you connect your SendGrid via API. It’s faster and reliable than SendGrid SMTP. But if you prefer SendGrid SMTP connection, You can also connect with that too.
Yes, FluentSMTP let you connect your Mailgun via API Key. It’s faster and reliable than Mailgun SMTP. But if you prefer Mailgun SMTP connection, You can also connect with that too.
Yes, FluentSMTP let you connect your Sendinblue email sending service via API Key. It’s faster and reliable. But if you prefer Sendinblue SMTP connection, You can also connect with that too.
Yes, FluentSMTP let you connect your SparkPost email sending service via API Key.
Yes, FluentSMTP let you connect your Pepipost email sending service via secure API Key.
Thank you so much. We really appreciate it. Please check our github repository for more details.
Yes. FluentSMTP ships a native Cloudflare Email Sending integration. Add your Cloudflare Account ID and an API token with Email Sending permissions, and the plugin will send through Cloudflare’s REST API (including attachments, CC/BCC, Reply-To, and custom headers). The sending domain must be on Cloudflare with Email Sending enabled (SPF/DKIM/DMARC published).
Yes. FluentSMTP has a native toSend integration. Create an API key in the toSend dashboard, add your verified sending domain, paste the key into FluentSMTP, and your WordPress emails will be delivered through toSend.
FluentSMTP checks every connection once a day. If one starts failing, from an expired OAuth token or a revoked API key, it is flagged on the dashboard and sent to your configured notification channels (Telegram, Slack, Discord or Pushover). You can also run wp fluent-smtp health from the command line at any time.
Yes. wp fluent-smtp test sends a test email, wp fluent-smtp health checks your connections, wp fluent-smtp stats shows sent and failed counts, and wp fluent-smtp prune-logs deletes old logs.
By default WordPress sends email with the PHP mail() function on your web server, which is often unauthenticated, rate limited, or blocked outright by the host. Mailbox providers then reject or junk it. FluentSMTP sends your email through a proper email service or SMTP server instead, authenticated with your own domain, so it is delivered and lands in the inbox.
Yes. There is no pro version, no paid add-on and no feature limit. Every provider and every feature is in the free plugin, and it will stay that way.
Yes. Connect your Google account with OAuth and FluentSMTP sends through the Gmail API. You can also use Gmail’s SMTP server with an app password if you prefer.
Yes. Connect your Microsoft account with OAuth2 and FluentSMTP sends through Microsoft’s Graph API. Single-tenant Entra app registrations are supported.
Yes. When you create a connection you choose where its credentials are kept: in the database, or in your wp-config.php file, which is what we recommend.
Yes. FluentSMTP connects to SendGrid over their API, which is faster than their SMTP endpoint. If you would rather use SMTP, you can set that up instead.
Yes. FluentSMTP connects to Mailgun with an API key, which is faster than their SMTP endpoint. If you would rather use SMTP, you can set that up instead.
Yes. FluentSMTP connects to Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) with an API key. If you would rather use SMTP, you can set that up instead.
Yes. FluentSMTP connects to SparkPost with an API key.
Yes. FluentSMTP connects to Netcore (formerly Pepipost) with an API key.
Yes. FluentSMTP ships a native Cloudflare Email Sending integration. Add your Cloudflare Account ID and an API token with Email Sending permissions, and the plugin will send through Cloudflare’s REST API (including attachments, CC/BCC, Reply-To, and custom headers). The sending domain must be on Cloudflare with Email Sending enabled (SPF/DKIM/DMARC published).
Yes. FluentSMTP has a native toSend integration. Create an API key in the toSend dashboard, add your verified sending domain, paste the key into FluentSMTP, and your WordPress emails will be delivered through toSend.
Please check our GitHub repository. Pull requests are welcome.
Contributors and developers
“FluentSMTP – WP SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, MailGun, Postmark, Google and Any SMTP Provider”
is open source software. The following people have
contributed to this plugin.
