Ethereal Email
Ethereal Email is a free email-catching service for testing outbound messages.
What Ethereal Email is
Ethereal Email is a free email-catching service for testing outbound messages. It accepts mail through SMTP, stores it for review and never delivers it to recipients. The service is aimed mainly at Nodemailer users, but works with mail clients or libraries that support SMTP. Test accounts can be created through Nodemailer or manually from the login page; Nodemailer-created accounts provide SMTP credentials immediately without signup or email verification. Messages can be viewed in the web interface, through IMAP or POP3, or with a URL from `nodemailer.getTestMessageUrl(info)`. Ethereal offers SMTP, IMAP and POP3 access, with STARTTLS for SMTP and TLS for IMAP and POP3. Public accounts can send up to 200 messages per hour, each address has 100MB of storage, and messages are deleted after a few hours. Inbound email is disabled for public accounts; receiving requires an active EmailEngine subscription and API key.
Good
- Free outbound email capture
- Provides SMTP, IMAP and POP3 access
- Offers Nodemailer preview URLs
- No signup for Nodemailer-created credentials
- Supports any SMTP-compatible mail client
Watch out
- Messages are deleted after a few hours
- Each address has 100MB storage
- Public accounts cannot receive inbound email
- Sending is limited to 200 messages hourly
Who it suits
It suits developers checking outbound email without contacting real recipients. Nodemailer users get a direct setup path, while other SMTP-compatible clients can also connect.
Verdict
Ethereal Email offers a contained way to inspect outbound messages during development. Its protocol support and Nodemailer integration are practical, but short retention and disabled inbound mail limit it to testing use.
Plans and prices
From Ethereal Email's own pricing page, checked 4 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Ethereal | Free | 200 messages per hour for public accounts · 100MB storage per address · messages deleted after a few hours |
The facts
Each one read from Ethereal Email's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Account access
- Creating an account through Nodemailer provides SMTP credentials instantly without signup or email verification.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Audience
- The service is mostly aimed at Nodemailer users, but supports any mail client or library that supports SMTP.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Inbound email
- Inbound email is disabled for public accounts; the help page says inbound access requires an active EmailEngine subscription and an API key.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Integrations and funding
- Ethereal is run by the Nodemailer team and funded by EmailEngine, described as a self-hosted email API for Gmail, Microsoft 365, and IMAP.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Message preview
- Users can preview sent messages through a URL from `nodemailer.getTestMessageUrl(info)`, the web interface, or an IMAP/POP3 client.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Protocols
- Ethereal provides SMTP, IMAP, and POP3 access; its help page lists STARTTLS for SMTP and TLS for IMAP and POP3.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Ethereal is a free email-catching service for testing outbound email; it stores messages for review and never delivers them.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Retention
- Messages are stored for a few hours and then deleted.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Security rationale
- The help page says inbound email was discontinued for general accounts after the feature was exploited because anonymous accounts were easy to create.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Sending limit
- Public accounts can send up to 200 messages per hour, after which the server temporarily rejects further messages until the next hour.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Storage quota
- Each address has a 100MB message-storage quota.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- The FAQ directs users to the help page, Nodemailer documentation, or [email protected] for assistance.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Test accounts
- Users can create test accounts with Nodemailer or manually from the login page, and the FAQ says users can create as many as they wish.checked 4 Oct 2026
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