Free Email Service Providers
OJS requires SMTP to send transactional emails (submission confirmations, review invitations, etc.). The following providers offer free tiers suitable for low/mid-volume journals.
| Provider | Free Tier | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) | 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts | SMTP + API; solid deliverability | brevo.com |
| Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) | 500 emails/month (via paid plan add-on) | Excellent deliverability; free trial | mailchimp.com |
| SendGrid | 100 emails/day free forever | Twilio product; easy SMTP setup | sendgrid.com |
| Mailgun | 1,000 emails/month (first 3 months free) | Developer-friendly; pay-as-you-go after | mailgun.com |
| Amazon SES | 62,000 emails/month free (if sent from EC2) | Extremely cheap outside free tier | aws.amazon.com/ses |
| Postmark | 100 emails/month free, then pay-per-use | Best deliverability; strict policy | postmarkapp.com |
| SMTP2GO | 1,000 emails/month free | Good analytics; GDPR compliant | smtp2go.com |
| Elastic Email | 100 emails/day free | Simple pricing; EU-friendly | elasticemail.com |
| Mailtrap (testing) | Unlimited email testing (sandbox) | For dev/staging only; not production | mailtrap.io |
| Zoho Mail (SMTP) | 5 GB mailbox; SMTP included | Use your own domain; free for ≤5 users | zoho.com/mail |
| Gmail SMTP (App Password) | 500 emails/day | Requires Google Workspace or Gmail account | support.google.com |
How to Configure SMTP in OJS
Edit config.inc.php:
; SMTP settings
smtp = On
smtp_server = smtp.brevo.com
smtp_port = 587
smtp_auth = PLAIN
smtp_username = your@email.com
smtp_password = your_smtp_password
Or configure via Admin → Site Settings → Emails → Email Setup.