Alternatives to Forward Email
Open-source email forwarding and alias service for custom domains
Forward Email ranks #2 of 10 in Email alias services, with an Alt Score of 90. It is licensed under BUSL-1.1, freemium from $3/mo and available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and Web. 9 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Forward Email is a fully open-source email forwarding provider that lets users send and receive mail as unlimited aliases on their own custom domains, with IMAP/POP3/SMTP support. It is popular in privacy and self-hosted communities as a transparent, auditable alternative to closed-source alias tools, and it can be deployed on your own infrastructure.
Individuals, freelancers, small businesses, and larger organizations (education, government, nonprofits) who want to send and receive email at their own custom domain without running their own mail server. It is used for free forwarding-only setups as well as paid, full inbox hosting for teams.
Unlimited custom domains with catch-all addresses and regex-based forwarding rules on the free tier; paid tiers add unlimited aliases, full IMAP/POP3/SMTP mailbox hosting with pooled encrypted storage, outbound SMTP sending, a developer REST API, and OpenPGP/WKD end-to-end encryption support. The full codebase (BUSL-1.1, converting to MPL-2.0 after four years, with some files already MPL-2.0) is published on GitHub and can be self-hosted via a Docker-based install.
Users point their domain's MX (and related SPF/DKIM/DMARC) DNS records at Forward Email; incoming mail is matched against per-alias forwarding, catch-all, or regex rules and either forwarded to an existing inbox, delivered to Forward Email's own encrypted IMAP storage, or sent to a webhook. Paid plans additionally allow outbound sending directly from the alias address over SMTP or the API, and mail can optionally be PGP-encrypted using an uploaded key or WKD lookup before delivery.
Where Forward Email stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave Forward Email
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
33mail is a long-running (since 2011) email aliasing service that generates unlimited disposable forwarding addresses to protect a user's real inbox, with anonymous reply and a Chrome extension.
AliasVault is an open-source, end-to-end encrypted password manager with a built-in email alias generator and mail server, positioned explicitly as an open-source alternative to SimpleLogin.
ImprovMX is a widely used email forwarding service that turns a custom domain into unlimited catch-all-capable aliases forwarding to any inbox, with a generous free tier and paid plans adding SMTP sen.
Burner Mail is a browser-extension-driven email alias service that auto-fills disposable forwarding addresses on signup forms, supports replying from an alias through the user's normal inbox, and offe.
Feature comparison
How Forward Email compares with its alternatives, feature by feature.
| Email alias services checklist | Forward Email | SimpleLogin | addy.io | Firefox Relay | 33mail | AliasVault |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Unlimited aliases (paid) | ||||||
| Custom domains | ||||||
| Reply from alias | ||||||
| Browser extension | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| Open source | ||||||
| PGP encryption | ||||||
| Free tier limits | ||||||
| Catch-all support |
Every fact and feature listed for Forward Email is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Freemium verified 2026-07-30
Free forwarding-only tier plus paid Enhanced Protection ($3/mo), Team ($9/mo), and Enterprise ($250/mo) tiers.
$0/month for unlimited domains
https://forwardemail.net/en/private-business-email -
Status active verified 2026-07-30
v0.12.31Jul 30, 2026 2:58 AM
https://forwardemail.net/en/event-feed -
License BUSL-1.1 verified 2026-07-30
Dual-licensed: most files are BUSL-1.1 (converts to MPL-2.0 four years after publish), a small set of model files (e.g. app/models/attachments.js) are MPL-2.0. GitHub badge reads 'BUSL 1.1 AND MPL 2.0
All other files are licensed under the [Business Source License 1.1](#business-source-license-11) below.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/forwardemail/forwardemail.net/master/LICENSE.md -
Starts at $3/mo verified 2026-07-30
Enhanced Protection plan; cheapest paid tier that allows sending/receiving as [email protected].
$3/month for unlimited domains
https://forwardemail.net/en/private-business-email -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web verified 2026-07-30
Event feed changelog also shows recent fix(ios) and fix(android) release entries, plus a fix(web) entry; desktop app is cross-platform (Tauri) covering Windows/macOS/Linux.
code-sign our open-source desktop app
https://forwardemail.net/en/event-feed -
Unlimited aliases (paid) Yes verified 2026-07-30
Included in Enhanced Protection ($3/mo) and higher tiers.
Unlimited aliases ($0/user)
https://forwardemail.net/en/private-business-email -
Custom domains Yes verified 2026-07-30
Custom Domain Email Address
https://forwardemail.net/en/private-business-email -
Reply from alias Yes verified 2026-07-30
Free plan supports 'Send Mail As with Gmail' workaround only; direct send/receive as the alias requires Enhanced Protection ($3/mo) or higher.
Send outbound SMTP email
https://forwardemail.net/en/private-business-email -
Browser extension No verified 2026-07-30
FAQ's PGP setup table only points users to third-party extensions (Mailvelope/FlowCrypt); no first-party Forward Email browser extension was found on the site.
You can download the open-source browser extension Mailvelope or FlowCrypt.
https://forwardemail.net/en/faq -
Self-hostable Yes verified 2026-07-30
Fully open source, self-hosted email solution that gives you complete control, transparency, and privacy.
https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/docs/self-hosted-solution -
Open source Yes verified 2026-07-30
Codebase is BUSL-1.1/MPL-2.0 (source-available with a delayed open-source conversion), not an OSI-approved permissive/copyleft license, though the vendor markets it as '100% open-source'.
100% open-source codebase on GitHub
https://forwardemail.net/llms.txt -
PGP encryption Yes verified 2026-07-30
Yes, we support OpenPGP, end-to-
https://forwardemail.net/en/faq -
Free tier limits Yes verified 2026-07-30
Free plan is forwarding-only with a 50 MB attachment limit; no sending, storage, or SMTP access.
Email forwarding only, which means you cannot send mail
https://forwardemail.net/en/private-business-email -
Catch-all support Yes verified 2026-07-30
Available even on the Free plan.
Catch-all email addresses
https://forwardemail.net/en/private-business-email
FAQ
Yes. SimpleLogin, addy.io and Firefox Relay have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
SimpleLogin, addy.io and Firefox Relay — every license claim links its source.