nodemailer vs mailgun-js vs sendgrid
Email Sending Libraries for Node.js Comparison
1 Year
nodemailermailgun-jssendgridSimilar Packages:
What's Email Sending Libraries for Node.js?

Email sending libraries are essential tools in web development that facilitate the process of sending emails from applications. These libraries provide various functionalities such as handling SMTP connections, integrating with email service providers, and managing email templates. They simplify the complexities involved in email delivery, allowing developers to focus on building features rather than dealing with the intricacies of email protocols. Each library has its unique strengths, use cases, and integrations, making it crucial for developers to choose the right one based on their project requirements.

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Package
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nodemailer4,924,43716,975508 kB113 months agoMIT-0
mailgun-js130,251892-526 years agoMIT
sendgrid48,1203,020-748 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: nodemailer vs mailgun-js vs sendgrid

Integration

  • nodemailer:

    Nodemailer is designed to work with any SMTP server, giving developers the flexibility to choose their email provider. It supports various transport methods, including SMTP, AWS SES, and more, making it versatile for different use cases.

  • mailgun-js:

    Mailgun-js integrates seamlessly with the Mailgun email service, providing a rich set of features such as email tracking, analytics, and templating. It allows developers to leverage Mailgun's powerful API to manage email campaigns effectively.

  • sendgrid:

    Sendgrid offers a comprehensive API that allows for easy integration with its email delivery service. It provides additional features like webhooks for event notifications, making it suitable for applications that require real-time email tracking.

Ease of Use

  • nodemailer:

    Nodemailer is known for its simplicity and ease of use. It provides a clear and concise API, allowing developers to send emails with minimal configuration, which is particularly beneficial for beginners.

  • mailgun-js:

    Mailgun-js is user-friendly and provides a straightforward API for sending emails. It abstracts many complexities involved in email handling, making it easy for developers to implement email functionalities quickly.

  • sendgrid:

    Sendgrid's API is well-documented and easy to use, but it may require more setup compared to nodemailer. However, its extensive features can be advantageous for developers looking for advanced email functionalities.

Scalability

  • nodemailer:

    Nodemailer is primarily a library for sending emails via SMTP and does not inherently provide scalability features. Scalability depends on the SMTP server used, which may limit its effectiveness for high-volume applications.

  • mailgun-js:

    Mailgun is designed to handle large volumes of emails, making it a scalable solution for businesses that expect to grow. Its infrastructure supports high throughput and ensures reliable email delivery even during peak times.

  • sendgrid:

    Sendgrid is built for scalability, capable of handling millions of emails per month. It offers features like automatic scaling and load balancing, making it an excellent choice for applications with high email demands.

Analytics and Tracking

  • nodemailer:

    Nodemailer does not offer built-in analytics or tracking features, as it focuses on sending emails. Developers would need to implement their tracking mechanisms if required.

  • mailgun-js:

    Mailgun-js provides robust analytics features, allowing developers to track email opens, clicks, and other engagement metrics. This data can be invaluable for optimizing email campaigns and understanding user behavior.

  • sendgrid:

    Sendgrid excels in analytics and tracking, providing detailed reports on email performance, including delivery rates, open rates, and click-through rates. This information is crucial for businesses looking to improve their email marketing strategies.

Support and Community

  • nodemailer:

    Nodemailer has a strong community and extensive documentation, making it easy for developers to find support and resources. Its popularity ensures that many common issues have been addressed by the community.

  • mailgun-js:

    Mailgun has a dedicated support team and a growing community of users. The documentation is comprehensive, providing examples and best practices for using the library effectively.

  • sendgrid:

    Sendgrid offers professional support options and has a large user community. The extensive documentation and resources available help developers troubleshoot issues and implement best practices.

How to Choose: nodemailer vs mailgun-js vs sendgrid
  • nodemailer:

    Choose nodemailer if you prefer a straightforward and flexible solution for sending emails via SMTP. It is particularly useful for smaller applications or projects that need to send emails without relying on external services, providing a simple API for SMTP integration.

  • mailgun-js:

    Choose mailgun-js if you require a powerful email service with robust analytics and tracking features. Mailgun offers a comprehensive API for sending, receiving, and tracking emails, making it ideal for applications needing detailed insights into email performance.

  • sendgrid:

    Choose sendgrid if you need a scalable and reliable email delivery service with advanced features like email validation, A/B testing, and detailed analytics. Sendgrid is well-suited for applications that expect high email volumes and require strong deliverability.

README for nodemailer

Nodemailer

Nodemailer

Send emails from Node.js – easy as cake! 🍰✉️

NPM

See nodemailer.com for documentation and terms.

[!TIP] Check out EmailEngine – a self-hosted email gateway that allows making REST requests against IMAP and SMTP servers. EmailEngine also sends webhooks whenever something changes on the registered accounts.

Using the email accounts registered with EmailEngine, you can receive and send emails. EmailEngine supports OAuth2, delayed sends, opens and clicks tracking, bounce detection, etc. All on top of regular email accounts without an external MTA service.

Having an issue?

First review the docs

Documentation for Nodemailer can be found at nodemailer.com.

Nodemailer throws a SyntaxError for "..."

You are using an older Node.js version than v6.0. Upgrade Node.js to get support for the spread operator. Nodemailer supports all Node.js versions starting from Node.js@v6.0.0.

I'm having issues with Gmail

Gmail either works well, or it does not work at all. It is probably easier to switch to an alternative service instead of fixing issues with Gmail. If Gmail does not work for you, then don't use it. Read more about it here.

I get ETIMEDOUT errors

Check your firewall settings. Timeout usually occurs when you try to open a connection to a firewalled port either on the server or on your machine. Some ISPs also block email ports to prevent spamming.

Nodemailer works on one machine but not in another

It's either a firewall issue, or your SMTP server blocks authentication attempts from some servers.

I get TLS errors

  • If you are running the code on your machine, check your antivirus settings. Antiviruses often mess around with email ports usage. Node.js might not recognize the MITM cert your antivirus is using.
  • Latest Node versions allow only TLS versions 1.2 and higher. Some servers might still use TLS 1.1 or lower. Check Node.js docs on how to get correct TLS support for your app. You can change this with tls.minVersion option
  • You might have the wrong value for the secure option. This should be set to true only for port 465. For every other port, it should be false. Setting it to false does not mean that Nodemailer would not use TLS. Nodemailer would still try to upgrade the connection to use TLS if the server supports it.
  • Older Node versions do not fully support the certificate chain of the newest Let's Encrypt certificates. Either set tls.rejectUnauthorized to false to skip chain verification or upgrade your Node version
let configOptions = {
    host: "smtp.example.com",
    port: 587,
    tls: {
        rejectUnauthorized: true,
        minVersion: "TLSv1.2"
    }
}

I have issues with DNS / hosts file

Node.js uses c-ares to resolve domain names, not the DNS library provided by the system, so if you have some custom DNS routing set up, it might be ignored. Nodemailer runs dns.resolve4() and dns.resolve6() to resolve hostname into an IP address. If both calls fail, then Nodemailer will fall back to dns.lookup(). If this does not work for you, you can hard code the IP address into the configuration like shown below. In that case, Nodemailer would not perform any DNS lookups.

let configOptions = {
    host: "1.2.3.4",
    port: 465,
    secure: true,
    tls: {
        // must provide server name, otherwise TLS certificate check will fail
        servername: "example.com"
    }
}

I have an issue with TypeScript types

Nodemailer has official support for Node.js only. For anything related to TypeScript, you need to directly contact the authors of the type definitions.

I have a different problem

If you are having issues with Nodemailer, then the best way to find help would be Stack Overflow or revisit the docs.

License

Nodemailer is licensed under the MIT No Attribution license


The Nodemailer logo was designed by Sven Kristjansen.