Overview

For inbound mail, CloudMailin receives messages, parses them and forwards them to an application with an HTTP POST. Teams can choose JSON, multipart form data or raw text, and handle the result in the language or framework they already use. Attachments can be forwarded to a webhook or stored in Amazon S3, Azure Storage or Google Cloud Storage.

The other half is transactional email: send through an API or SMTP relay, with spam checking, link and open tracking, bounce handling, reporting, tagging and priority queues. That breadth makes CloudMailin more than an inbound parser, though teams looking only for a lightweight library or a small parsing quota may prefer a narrower alternative.

Key features

Inbound processing and delivery

Webhook delivery avoids building a separate mail-polling workflow, while JSON, multipart and raw text support give developers options for processing messages. CloudMailin cites examples from Node.js and Python to Java and C#, and says the inbound service works with any language or framework. That flexibility is useful for mixed or less common stacks, but the product’s value depends on having an application endpoint ready to receive the posts.

Delivery history includes 30 days of searchable records, with error and retry details. This gives teams a practical window to diagnose failed deliveries without relying only on their own logs. Attachments can go directly to a webhook or to one of three named cloud storage services, which can keep larger files out of the application’s immediate processing path.

Sending, security and regional handling

Transactional sending adds tracking and bounce handling alongside reporting and priority queues, so teams can manage outbound mail in the same service as inbound processing. The security program is aligned with ISO 27001 and has completed a SOC 2 Type 2 examination; reports are available to customers and prospects under NDA. Sending requires TLS, data is encrypted at rest where possible, and accounts can use 2FA or Google and GitHub OAuth.

Inbound data is processed in the region where it is received, with EU, US or Asia Pacific as possible defaults; a specific region can be selected through DNS records. The security policy says inbound metadata is retained for 60 days, while delivery history is described as available for 30 days. These are distinct periods, worth keeping in mind when setting operational or retention expectations.

Pricing

The Free Plan costs 0.00 USD per free, requires no card and allows 10,000 emails per month, but caps each message at 512KB. It is a useful starting point for modest traffic and small messages; the size ceiling can quickly rule it out for attachment-heavy mail. A 7-day trial is also offered.

Starter costs 25.00 USD per month and keeps the 10,000-email monthly quota while raising the message limit to 2MB and adding full-text search. It is the entry paid option for teams that need searchable history or more room per message, not a higher monthly volume. Professional costs 45.00 USD per month for 20,000 emails, 10MB per message, full-text search and 150GB per month of data transfer. Premium costs 85.00 USD per month for 40,000 emails, 50MB per message, full-text search and 400GB per month of transfer. Those tiers suit steadily higher volume or larger messages, with the transfer allowance rising alongside them.

All paid plans include custom domains, catch-all receiving, cloud attachment storage and delivery status reports with API access. Dedicated costs 1499.00 USD per month and provides a dedicated cluster, higher throughput and full control, positioning it for teams that need a dedicated deployment rather than a standard quota tier. Corporate has a stated price range of 2001799.00 USD per month; its billing is shown as $200 — $1,799/mo for 100k — 7M emails per month, 50MB per message and full-text search. That broad range reflects a very different scale from the self-serve plans. A dedicated IP option is also available.

Platforms

CloudMailin is offered through API and web access. SMTP relay is also supported for outbound sending, making it an option for applications that use SMTP rather than an API integration.

Who it's for

CloudMailin is best for developers who need inbound email parsed into an application and want transactional sending, delivery visibility and attachment handling under one service. Teams with larger messages should compare the per-message caps as closely as the monthly quotas. It is less compelling for people who need only a PHP parsing library, or whose parsing needs fit a small, tightly limited allowance.

Pros and cons

Pro: Inbound parsing and outbound transactional sending share one service, reducing the need to combine separate tools for those two flows.
Pro: JSON, multipart and raw-text delivery, broad language compatibility and cloud attachment storage allow several integration patterns.
Pro: Searchable delivery records with retry and error detail help teams investigate inbound failures.
Con: The free tier’s 512KB message cap is restrictive for attachment-heavy mail, and Starter raises it only to 2MB.
Con: Starter has the same 10,000 monthly emails as Free, so its value is in larger messages and search rather than added volume.
Con: The higher-volume Professional and Premium tiers cost 45.00 USD and 85.00 USD per month respectively, while dedicated infrastructure starts at 1499.00 USD per month.

Alternatives

For a broader set of options, see Email Parsing Software. PHP MIME Mail Parser is the better fit when a free, MIT-licensed PHP 8.2+ library is enough and self-hosting is preferable; it requires the mailparse extension and does not offer CloudMailin’s combined sending service.

MailFrame is worth considering for a low-volume API or web workflow: its free tier includes 100 parse operations per month, one active schema and webhook delivery. noima may suit document extraction with a small initial allowance, offering 10 documents once with 30 days of retention on its free tier. Parserr is an alternative for rule-based email workflows: its free plan allows 15 emails and 10 documents per month, with one inbox and unlimited parsing rules and integrations.

Parsio Receipt OCR is oriented to receipt OCR rather than general inbound email handling; its free plan includes 30 credits per month, 30-day data retention and one user. Parsli offers a free allowance of 10 pages on signup with unlimited parsers and API access, so it may fit a page-based parsing need. DigiParser is an alternative with a paid plan starting at 14.00 USD per month for 100 payslips, making it more directly relevant to payslip processing. MailParse offers a free plan with 100 emails per month, webhook delivery, REST polling and one inbound address for teams whose needs fit that smaller allowance.

Verdict

Choose CloudMailin if your application needs both inbound email parsing and transactional sending, especially when searchable delivery history and attachment routing matter. Its main advantage is that breadth; its main trade-off is that volume and message size are tied to paid tiers, while the free option’s 512KB cap is modest. If you need only a small parsing workflow or a self-hosted library, a narrower alternative is likely the better fit.

	CloudMailin	OptiExtract
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Paid from	$25/mo	$149/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, Web	api, Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Paid from	25 /mo	—
Webhook delivery	—	Yes
API access	—	Yes
Custom extraction fields	—	Yes

CloudMailin vs OptiExtract

CloudMailin

OptiExtract