The best SMTP for MailWizz depends on your volume and your list. Under about 100,000 opt-in emails a month, Amazon SES is the cheapest good choice at $0.10 per 1,000 emails. From roughly 500,000 a month, or if your list would not survive an ESP policy review, a dedicated SMTP server with rotating IPs wins on cost and control. MailWizz supports both as delivery servers, and the best setups run more than one.
MailWizz itself sends nothing. It is the campaign manager. Everything about inbox placement, speed and ban risk comes from the delivery server behind it, so this choice matters more than any template.
What MailWizz can send through
MailWizz connects to delivery servers, and you can combine several. Per the MailWizz delivery server docs, supported types include:
| Delivery server type | Examples | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| SMTP | Your own Postfix, Postal or PowerMTA server | Full control, flat cost |
| Email API | Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, SparkPost, Elastic Email | Fast start, pay per email |
| PHP mail or Sendmail | The web server itself | Testing only |
The connection steps for SMTP are in our MailWizz SMTP setup guide. This post is about which server to pick.
MailWizz manages the campaign. The delivery servers do the sending.
The options compared
| Option | Cost at 500K a month | Dedicated IP | Policy risk | Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon SES | about $50, plus $24.95 per dedicated IP | Optional add-on | Account review can pause all sends | Low |
| SendGrid | Pro from $89.95, rising with volume | 1 on Pro | Strict, bans bought lists and cold email | Low |
| Mailgun | Per-email tiers | Higher plans | Strict | Low |
| Own SMTP server | one-time setup plus about $11 a month | 3 to 60 included | Your own rules, within the law | Full |
| Gmail or Workspace | Not usable | No | Locks the account | None |
SES prices come from the Amazon SES pricing page. For Mailgun's tiers in detail, see our Mailgun pricing breakdown.
Amazon SES: cheapest to start
SES is the default for MailWizz users for good reason. MailWizz has a native SES delivery server type, setup takes an afternoon, and 1 million emails cost about $100.
What you give up is control. New SES accounts start in a sandbox and must ask for production access. After that, AWS watches your bounce and complaint rates, and if they slip, the account goes under review. When that happens, every MailWizz campaign using that delivery server stops at the same time. You also share IPs unless you pay $24.95 a month per dedicated IP.
Pick SES when your list is opt-in, your bounce rate stays under 2%, and your volume is modest.
SendGrid or Mailgun: easy, but strict
Both work as MailWizz delivery servers, and both are reliable. Neither is cheap at volume, and both have strict policies, because your complaints land on their shared IPs. A MailWizz user importing an old or bought list is exactly the kind of sender these platforms suspend. If that describes your list, skip them and read is SendGrid good for bulk email for where the line sits.
Own SMTP server: best past 500K a month
A dedicated SMTP server is the natural partner for MailWizz, because MailWizz is built to rotate across many delivery servers. Each IP or IP group becomes its own delivery server with its own quota, and MailWizz spreads campaigns across them.
The cost stays flat as volume grows. At 100,000 emails a month, SES costs about $10, SendGrid Pro $89.95 and an own server about $11 of hosting. At 1 million a month, SES is about $100, SendGrid commonly $600 or more, and an own server about $49 of hosting. On BulkEmailSetup Basic you pay $549 once and about $11 a month of hosting for 3 IPs and 25,000 emails a day, which covers up to about 750,000 a month. Advance handles 200,000 a day across 3 servers and 15 IPs for $1,199 once and about $49 a month.
Per-email services rise with volume. An own server stays flat until you need more capacity.
The trade: you own the reputation. Warm-up, list hygiene and watching bounces are your job, or the job of whoever runs the server. If you prefer to compare the software choices on that server, see Postal vs Postfix.
How many delivery servers to run
Never run just one. If it is paused, throttled or blocked, every campaign stops.
| Daily volume | Delivery servers | IPs | Hourly quota per server in week 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 25,000 | 1 to 3 (one per IP) | 3 | 50 to 200 |
| Up to 200,000 | 3 or more | 15 | 50 to 200 per IP |
| Up to 1,000,000 | 12 | 60 | 50 to 200 per IP |
Set each server's hourly and daily quota to match its warm-up stage, then raise it every few days while bounce and deferral rates stay clean. A mixed setup also works well: your own SMTP servers carry the bulk, and a small SES delivery server stays as a backup. Our post on how many IPs you need for your volume goes deeper on sizing.
Pick by list first, then by volume.
Which one to pick
- Under 100,000 a month, clean opt-in list: Amazon SES.
- Under 100,000 a month, already paying an ESP: keep it, connect it to MailWizz.
- 100,000 to 500,000 a month: either works. SES is cheaper per month, an own server gives you control and no account review.
- Over 500,000 a month: your own SMTP server, with several delivery servers rotating.
- Old, mixed or rented list: clean it first. No server fixes a bad list, and ESPs will ban it.
How BulkEmailSetup helps
We set up MailWizz-ready dedicated SMTP servers you own: dedicated IPs with PTR, SPF, DKIM and DMARC on every domain, bounce handling and a warm-up plan, with SMTP details ready to paste into MailWizz delivery servers. Basic is $549 one-time for 3 IPs and 25,000 emails a day. Advance is $1,199 for 3 servers, 15 IPs and 200,000 a day, with automatic warm-up. No monthly fee to us and a 15-day money-back guarantee. See the Advance plan or all plans on pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best delivery server for MailWizz?
For lists under about 100,000 emails a month, Amazon SES is the cheapest good option at $0.10 per 1,000 emails. Past roughly 500,000 a month, or if your list would not pass an ESP's policy review, a dedicated SMTP server with several rotating IPs is the better fit. It costs a flat amount and nobody can switch off your sending.
Is Amazon SES good for MailWizz?
Yes for clean opt-in lists. MailWizz supports SES as a native delivery server type, and sending costs $0.10 per 1,000 emails, about $100 for 1 million. The catch is control: new accounts start in a sandbox, bounces and complaints are watched closely, and an account review can pause every MailWizz campaign at once.
How many delivery servers should MailWizz have?
At least two, so one problem never stops all sending. A common pattern is one delivery server per IP or IP group, each with its own hourly quota during warm-up, and MailWizz rotating between them by probability. At 200,000 emails a day that usually means around 3 servers spread over 15 IPs.
What does MailWizz sending cost per month?
It depends on the delivery server. At 500,000 emails a month, Amazon SES costs about $50 plus $24.95 per dedicated IP if you add one. An ESP like SendGrid needs its Pro plan from $89.95 and rises with volume. A dedicated SMTP server costs a one-time setup plus hosting, about $11 a month on BulkEmailSetup Basic.
Does MailWizz include its own SMTP server?
No. MailWizz is the campaign manager: lists, templates, segments and stats. The actual sending is done by a delivery server you connect, which can be any SMTP server, PHP mail, Sendmail, or an API service like Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, SparkPost or Elastic Email. You need one of these before the first campaign.
Can I use Gmail or Google Workspace SMTP with MailWizz?
Technically yes, practically no. Free Gmail allows about 500 recipients a day and Workspace about 2,000, and bulk marketing breaks Google's rules for both. A few hundred sends in, the account gets locked. For anything that deserves the name bulk, connect a real SMTP server or an email API instead.
