MailDev vs Mailinator
MailDev
maildev.github.io
Mailinator
mailinator.comSide by side
| Figure | MailDev | Mailinator |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $79/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 13 |
| Spec score · Email Testing Software | 7.7 (#18) | 9.0 (#3) |
| Framework integrations | The docs provide setup examples for Nodemailer, Django, Ruby on Rails, Laravel, and Spring Boot, and say any language that speaks SMTP can connect. | Mailinator advertises use with Selenium, Cypress, Playwright and Puppeteer test frameworks. |
| Purpose | MailDev is a local SMTP server and web inbox for developers to catch and inspect email sent by an app during development. | Mailinator provides temporary inboxes and email and SMS workflow testing for developers, QA teams, and businesses. |
| Security | 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. | Mailinator says web traffic is served over HTTPS, private system email bodies are encrypted at rest, and public system email is not encrypted. |
Plans
Mailinator
- Public - FreeFree
- Public - FreeFree
- Verified ProFree
- Verified ProFree
- Business$79 a month
- Business (annual)$79 a month
- Business$99 a month
- Business Plus$159 a month
- Business Plus (annual)$159 a month
- Business Plus$199 a month
In their own words
Mailinator
Mailinator provides temporary inboxes and tools for testing email and SMS workflows. Developers, QA teams, and businesses can use it to check delivery for OTP, MFA, onboarding, password recovery, and other email processes at scale. Paid subscriptions include private testing domains, where messages can arrive at any address without creating an inbox first. The REST API retrieves inboxes, messages, and SMS, injects messages, and connects with CI/CD pipelines. Inbound webhooks can accept HTTP POST messages from sources such as alert systems, Zapier, or Twilio, then apply configured rules. SMS can be routed to an inbox or API for automated OTP and 2FA testing. The free public inboxes are readable by anyone, and messages typically auto-delete after several hours. Mailinator is receive-only: it cannot send email or fill out forms. The Public - Free plan is free to use without sign-up. Business costs $79 a month billed yearly; a two-week Business trial is listed. Other plans include Verified Pro at free, Business Plus at $159 a month billed yearly, and Enterprise at a price agreed with the maker with custom pricing.