Mail server SMTP email send (rate) limit for popular web hosting providers
Why do you need to know your web host’s SMTP email rate limit
If you run a web site and you plan to send out mass emails (for example, a newsletter), it is advisable to send the emails using an authenticated SMTP mail server that matches the nameserver records for your own domain name. This way, your outgoing emails will not trigger anti-spam filters set to identify phishing emails or spammers. For example, if you run a web site at www.my-web-site.com, our advice is to send the emails from a SMTP server name that resolves to the same domain name (like smtp.my-web-site.com).
However, to prevent spam, many web host providers enforce email send rate limits to their customers. The goal of this article is to show you the email send rate limit and options for most popular web host providers, such as GoDaddy, FastServers, HostWay, RackSpace, iPowerWeb and more.
Web Hosting Providers – SMTP limit and email rate limits
Important note: Please do NOT take this information for granted, as your host provider can change its mail server policy without any prior notification. It is always a good idea to contact your host provider and ask about the email send rate, before proceeding with a mass email campaign.
The following restrictions apply when sending emails from a web site / domain hosted by GoDaddy:
- GoDaddy email send limit for shared web hosting – no more than 250 relays (recipients) per day. You can purchase additional relays, in packs of 50
- GoDaddy email send limit for dedicated servers or dedicated virtual servers – no more than 1000 relays (recipients) per day.
- GoDaddy other SMTP limits – outgoing messages sent via GoDaddy can not exceed 30Mb per email (including attachments)
- GoDaddy email FAQ – http://help.godaddy.com/article_list.php?topic_id=168
- GoDaddy SMTP restriction expiry method – the restriction is automatically lifted 24 hours after the email send limit was reached.
The following restrictions apply when sending emails from a web site / domain hosted by APlus.net:
- APlus email send limit for shared web hosting – no more than 1000 recipients per mailing list AND no more than 500 emails per 30 minutes.
- APlus other SMTP limits – max 7Mb for web email or max 20Mb for local email client messages
- APlus email FAQ – http://www.apluskb.com/scripts/category_1pp100020.html
- APlus SMTP restriction expiry method – N/A
RackSpace.com apparently has no email rate limit, however all outgoing messages must be compliant with theRackSpace Acceptable Use Policy. Rackspace may test and otherwise monitor your compliance with its requirements, and may block the transmission of e-mail that violates these provisions.
HostWay allows customers to send emails to mailing lists, using the MailMan service. The number of mailing list subscribers depend on your hosting plan. Using a MailMan mailing list for spamming can lead to the termination of your web hosting account.
The following restrictions apply when sending emails from a web site / domain hosted by Homestead:
- Homestead email send limit for web hosting – no more than 10 messages per second. All mass emails must be compliant with the Homestead Mass Mailing Policy.
The following restrictions apply when sending emails from a web site / domain hosted by IPowerWeb:
- IPowerWeb email send limit – no more than 200 emails per hour and 600 emails per day (for newly created account) OR no more than 500 emails per hour and 5000 emails per day.
- IPowerWeb other SMTP limits – outgoing messages sent via IPowerWeb can not exceed 25Mb per email, including attachments. Mailing lists should not exceed 200 recipients.
- IPowerWeb Email Policy – http://www.ipowerweb.com/company/legal/legal_spamming.html
The following restrictions apply when sending emails from a web site / domain hosted by Bluehost:
- Bluehost email send rate limit – the default limit is set to 50 emails per hour. The limit may be raised by contacting the Bluehost support team and explaining why you need the send email limit to be lifted
- Bluehost other SMTP limits – outgoing messages sent via Bluehost can not exceed 10Mb per email (including attachments)
- Bluehost email FAQ – http://helpdesk.bluehost.com/kb/index.php?x=&mod_id=2&root=27
* The HostMonster email policy is identical with the one of Bluehost.
The following restrictions apply when sending emails from a web site / domain hosted by LunarPages:
- LunarPages email send rate limit for shared hosting plans – max 20 emails per minute, 600 emails per hour and 14400 emails per day
- LunarPages email send rate limit for dedicated server plans – no limit (according to the LunarPages support forum)
- LunarPages Email Policy – http://www.lunarpages.com/aup.php
The following restrictions apply when sending emails from a web site / domain hosted by 1and1:
- 1and1 email send rate limit – max 99 emails at once
- 1and1 Other SMTP restrictions – each outgoing message must have less than 50Mb (including attachments)
Send email rate limit for webmail providers – Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, AOL, Lycos Mail
Sending mass emails from webmail email accounts
Most webmail emai account providers, such as Yahoo! Mail or Google Gmail, allow users to send email by using the webmail browser interface or by using a SMTP connection with the email account SMTP server. No matter the way you send the emails (web interface or email client software), you must be aware of the "rate limit" (the limit for sending emails) established by your email account provider.
Web Email Account Providers – email rate limits and SMTP limit
Important note: Please do NOT take this information for granted, as your email account provider can change its email policy without any prior notification. It is always a good idea to contact your email account provider and ask about the email send rate, before proceeding with a mass email campaign.
The following restrictions apply when sending emails from a Google Gmail account:
- Gmail email send limit – no more than 500 recipients p
er message for the Gmail web interface, or max 100 recipients if you are using an email client software.
- Gmail other SMTP limits – outgoing messages sent via Google Gmail can not exceed 10Mb per email (including attachments)
- Google Mail Policy – http://www.google.com/mail/help/program_policies.html
- Google Mail SMTP restriction expiry method – the restriction is automatically removed within 24 hours after the limit was reached.
The following restrictions apply when sending emails from a Hotmail account:
- Hotmail email send limit – no more than 100 recipients per day.
- Hotmail other SMTP limits – outgoing messages sent via Hotmail can not exceed 10Mb per email (including attachments)
The following restrictions apply when sending emails from a Yahoo Mail account:
- Yahoo Mail email send limit – no more than 100 emails or recipients per hour
- Yahoo Mail other SMTP limits – max 10Mb per message for the free Yahoo Mail Service, or 20Mb per message for Yahoo! Mail Plus
- Yahoo! Anti-Spam Policy – http://docs.yahoo.com/info/guidelines/spam.html
- Yahoo Mail SMTP restriction expiry method – N/A
The following restrictions apply when sending emails from a Lycos Mail account:
- Lycos Mail email send limit – max 25 recipients per message and max 250 emails per day
- Lycos Mail other SMTP limits – Lycos Mail does not have a limit to the attachment file size at this time.
- Lycos Email Policy – http://info.lycos.com/legal/mail_terms.html
AOL imposes a rate limit on an AOL member when a member exceeds the acceptable number of email messages sent in a given time period. The following restrictions apply when sending emails from an AOL connection:
- AOL email send limit – no more than 100 recipients per message or 500 recipients per connection
- AOL other SMTP limits – max 16mb per message
- AOL email-outbound policy – http://postmaster-us.info.aol.com/ipt/
- AOL SMTP restriction expiry method – N/A
I am looking for a web host without Email Send Rate Limit & SMTP Restrictions. According to your article, Rackspace has no such limits. I just spoke with their chat support and apparently their send limit is 250/hr. You may want to verify ammend the article.
Can you recommend a shared /dedicated web host without Send Rate limits?
Sure can. Amazon SES service is now able to be used as a gateway. The catch is that you need to verify your sending domain. So if you are sending only from a couple of domains, you can verify each one and use this service. No limits but you can’t blast spam.