Emailens vs MailDev
Emailens
emailens.dev
MailDev
maildev.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Emailens | MailDev |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $9/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 1 |
| Spec score · Email Testing Software | 9.4 (#1) | 7.7 (#18) |
| Audience | The pricing page describes the free plan as suited to hobbyists and individual developers, and Dev as built for freelance developers, indie hackers, and creators. | The maker describes MailDev as a development tool for developers testing email generated by their projects. |
| Purpose | Emailens previews and checks how HTML emails render across 21 email clients. | MailDev is a local SMTP server and web inbox for developers to catch and inspect email sent by an app during development. |
| Security | The security page says unsaved previews are processed in memory and authenticated previews and screenshots are automatically purged after 30 days. | MailDev accepts mail from anyone, stores it unencrypted, and has no authentication by default, so the docs warn against exposing it to the public internet or using it for production traffic. |
Plans
Emailens
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- Dev$9 a month
- Dev$9 a month
- Pro$19 a month
- Pro$19 a month
- Team$49 a month
In their own words
Emailens
Emailens previews HTML email rendering across 21 email clients and checks compatibility across 298 CSS and HTML features. It scores compatibility from 0 to 100 per client and provides rendered screenshots and simulated dark mode variants. Inputs include HTML, React Email JSX, MJML, and Maizzle. Developers can use a web app, REST API, MCP server, GitHub Action, or standalone @emailens/engine package. Campaign HTML can be imported from a view-in-browser link; Mailchimp URL import is marked verified, while other listed platforms require pasted HTML. Emailens discusses merge tags for Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot, Braze, and Salesforce Marketing Cloud. The free plan costs nothing and includes 30 simulated previews per day, all 21 clients, one monitored domain, seven-day audit history, and three AI Fixes. Paid plans are Dev at $9 a month, Pro at $19 a month, and Team at $49 a month. Emailens says unsaved previews are processed in memory and authenticated previews and screenshots are purged after 30 days.