GhostRelay vs Shroud.email

GhostRelay is a web service that creates email aliases and forwards their messages to a real inbox. Users can make random or custom aliases, monitor them, and disable or delete them from a dashboard. The free plan costs nothing, requires no credit card, and allows up to 20 aliases with unlimited forwarding, custom names, and enable or disable controls. Forwarded messages preserve the Reply-To header, and the service supports replying from an alias. Mail can be sent to any receiving address, including Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, ProtonMail, and iCloud. Disabled aliases reject incoming messages and return a bounce to the sender. GhostRelay says email is processed in memory without disk or database storage and content is not retained. It describes TLS 1.3, AES-256, bcrypt hashing, and signed JWT authentication. Custom domains and a browser extension are available; mobile apps and a public API are not.

Shroud.email creates email aliases that forward incoming messages to your real inbox, keeping the real address private. It removes tracking pixels from forwarded mail and proxies email images through its servers. You can delete or disable aliases and block individual senders, and the service says it works with all email providers, including Gmail and Proton Mail. Paid users can attach custom domains, configure catch-all aliases, and recreate those addresses elsewhere if they leave. The API manages aliases and discovers custom domains with bearer-token authorization. The project is open source under AGPL v3 and includes a Docker Compose deployment for self-hosting. Self-hosting requires a public server with ports 25, 80, and 443 open, plus keys for S3-compatible storage. Detected spam remains viewable in the web portal for seven days. The hosted service is EU-hosted on renewable energy. The Free plan costs nothing and includes five aliases and tracker blocking; the paid plan has no listed price and renews annually.