A Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is a form of communication between servers used to send and receive email. SMTP servers require authentication in the form of a username, password, IP address, ports, and security protocol (typically SSL or TLS). Mailgun provides you with all of the important details inside your account after you’ve added and authenticated a domain name. From there, it’s easy to start sending via your application’s SMTP email client. Need a little extra help? Consult our SMTP documentation.

While SMTP servers are an easy way to send outgoing mail, we recommend switching over to an Email API if your systems can support the migration. Email APIs can process requests faster than a typical SMTP service, and are easier to scale should your email volume be growing over time.