Postmark
6.1/10Postmark is an email delivery API and SMTP service, owned by ActiveCampaign, that sends transactional and broadcast email for software products and web apps.
Data last updated November 2026 · Our methodology
Overview
Postmark is an email sending service for applications. It handles transactional email, such as password resets, receipts and alerts, and it also offers a separate broadcast stream for bulk messages like product updates. Developers send through a REST API or SMTP. Message Streams keep transactional and broadcast traffic on separate IP infrastructure, so bulk mail does not damage the reputation of critical transactional mail. Reporting covers bounces, opens and clicks. Webhooks report delivery events, and the Pro plan and above can process inbound email. Pricing is monthly only and depends on volume. A free plan allows 100 emails a month and never expires. Paid plans start at 10,000 emails a month: Basic costs $15, Pro $16.50 and Platform $18. Overage rates fall from $1.80 to $1.20 per 1,000 emails as you move up the plans. Add-ons include dedicated IPs from $50 a month, longer activity retention and DMARC monitoring. Postmark offers no annual plans and does not accept PayPal or purchase orders. It suits SaaS startups, product teams and agencies that build apps and care most about how quickly and reliably system email reaches the inbox. It is a poor fit for marketing teams. Postmark says itself that it has no list uploads, no WYSIWYG campaign editor and no campaign reporting, so you manage contact lists elsewhere and sync unsubscribes by webhook. Since ActiveCampaign bought Postmark in 2022, some reviewers report slower support and accounts paused during approval reviews.
Our Rating
Who Postmark is best for
Good fit
REST API, SMTP, webhooks and a free test plan target developers sending app email.
Built for transactional email from software products and web apps.
A free 100-email plan, a $75 credit for bootstrapped companies and a developer-first API make it well suited to early SaaS products.
The Platform plan includes unlimited servers, domains and users for managing client apps.
Less suited
Dedicated IPs and custom pricing above 1.5 million emails a month are available, but there are no annual contracts or purchase orders.
It is affordable at low volumes, but it needs development work and has no campaign tools.
Free plan and $15 entry pricing suit independent developers building apps.
- Product Teams5/10
Vendor names product teams and offers a broadcast stream for product updates.
Receipts and alerts fit store transactional email, but no marketing features.
Postmark states it has no list uploads, visual editor or campaign reporting.
No campaign or social features; it is app email infrastructure.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Separate transactional and broadcast streams run on separate IPs, which protects deliverability for critical app email.
- A free plan of 100 emails a month never expires, so developers can test the integration at no cost.
- Clear volume pricing with no fees for broadcast messages; the Platform plan adds unlimited domains, users and servers for $18 a month.
- Offers both a REST API and SMTP, plus inbound email processing on the Pro plan and above.
- Many Capterra reviewers praise its speed and deliverability, with a 4.7 rating.
Cons
- Not a marketing platform: it has no list uploads, visual editor or campaign reporting.
- Billed monthly only, with no PayPal or purchase order payments.
- Some reviewers report slow support and accounts paused during approval reviews since the ActiveCampaign acquisition.
- Per-email costs are higher than bulk services such as Amazon SES at high volumes.
- Nothing sits between the 100-email free plan and the 10,000-email paid plans.
Key Features
Not included
- Landing Pages
- Webinars
- SMS Marketing
- Segmentation
- A/B Testing
Postmark Pricing
Basic
- 45-day data retention
- 5 custom sending domains
- $1.80 per 1,000 extra emails
- From 10,000 emails per month
Pro
- Inbound email processing
- 10 custom sending domains
- $1.30 per 1,000 extra emails
- From 10,000 emails per month
- Retention customizable up to 365 days
Platform
- Inbound email processing
- $1.20 per 1,000 extra emails
- From 10,000 emails per month
- Retention customizable up to 365 days
- Unlimited custom sending domains, users and servers
Frequently Asked Questions
ActiveCampaign acquired Postmark in 2022. Postmark was founded in 2009.
Yes. The free plan allows 100 emails a month with no overages, and it never expires.
You can send bulk messages through a broadcast stream, which needs an unsubscribe link. Postmark does not provide list uploads, a visual editor or campaign reporting, so you manage your lists in your own system.
No. Postmark currently offers monthly billing only, and unused emails do not roll over.
Yes. Dedicated IPs start at $50 a month per IP. They require the Pro plan or higher and at least 300,000 emails a month.
Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners and JCB. PayPal and purchase orders are not accepted.
Similar Tools
See all alternatives
Zapier is a no-code automation platform that connects thousands of business apps and adds AI steps, agents, and chatbots to workflows for teams of any size.
Odoo is an open-source business suite whose CRM app handles leads, pipelines, calling, and reporting for small and mid-sized companies, with ERP modules available alongside it.
MailerLite is an email marketing platform for small businesses and creators, combining newsletters, automations, landing pages, sites, forms and digital product sales.