MailParse vs PHP MIME Mail Parser

MailParse receives inbound email and converts MIME messages into structured JSON. It extracts text and HTML bodies, inline images, attachments, headers, and routing details, including nested and multipart messages. Parsed results can be sent by POST to a configured webhook, with exponential-backoff retries and HMAC signature verification, or retrieved through a REST polling API. Polling supports filters for sender, date range, subject, and attachment type, with cursor-based pagination. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation, spam scoring, and per-address rules support message handling. Attachments use signed download URLs and are retained for 72 hours by default, with plan-based retention settings. Custom domains require an MX record and ownership verification. If a webhook is unavailable, retries continue for up to 24 hours, with replay and polling recovery. MailParse offers API and web access. Free includes 100 emails monthly; Pro costs $29 per month and Scale $99 per month.

PHP MIME Mail Parser is a PHP library for reading MIME email, built around the mailparse extension. It can handle mail forwarded from Postfix, read.eml messages, support webmail creation, and store email information in a database. Messages may be provided by file path, raw MIME text, PHP file resource, or stream such as stdin. The parser returns headers as raw text or an array with character-set conversion, and can extract addresses and subject. For message content, it retrieves text and HTML bodies, including HTML with embedded content such as images. It can list and save attachments, include or omit inline attachments, and apply a strategy for duplicate filenames. Installation is recommended through Composer as php-mime-mail-parser/php-mime-mail-parser. It requires PHP 8.2 or later and the mailparse extension; listed supported PHP versions are 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, and 8.5. The library supports Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted use, and is released under the MIT license. Pricing is free.