What are you using for reliable email delivery from your servers?

[ronitroy]

I’m setting up a few self hosted services on Proxmox and I’m looking at the best way to handle email notifications and outbound messages without running a full mail server myself. I’ve been comparing options such as DigitalAka™, Brevo, and Mailchimp, but I’m mainly interested in something reliable for SMTP delivery.

For those running Proxmox or other self hosted environments, what are you using for SMTP? How has it worked for you in terms of deliverability, setup, reliability, and handling a higher volume of emails?

 

[lucavornheder]

It sounds like, you just want to send mails. If this is the case, you can setup/use PMG (Proxmox Mail Gateway) for that. You can use it as a smtp server.

It doesn't need to be publicly available for that usecase, just make sure to setup spf correctly.

 

[cwt]

If Docker is an option take a look on this repo:

https://github.com/juanluisbaptiste/docker-postfix

It can be configured as a relay but needs a valid „real“ account (gmail, outlook, etc.) to send messages to external recipients.

 

[dhruvv]

For self-hosted services on Proxmox, I’d personally lean toward a dedicated SMTP service rather than maintaining a full mail server. It keeps the setup simpler and avoids having to manage IP reputation, blacklists, and mail-server maintenance yourself. DigitalAka™ is one option worth considering if reliable SMTP delivery and straightforward setup are priorities. Brevo and Mailchimp are also established options, although the right choice can depend on whether you mainly need SMTP relay or a broader email/marketing platform.

For any of them, I’d make sure TLS/authentication, SPF/DKIM configuration, delivery monitoring, rate limits, and your expected email volume are supported before moving production workloads over.