Key Differences Between Brevo and Mailtrap

1. Mailtrap doesn’t require complex setup or deep coding expertise – you can integrate and start sending via SMTP or API in just a few steps. Brevo also supports SMTP and API integration for transactional emails, but requires, in some cases, account-level approval before you can begin sending.
2. Depending on the pricing plan, Mailtrap stores full emails in the Email Logs for up to 30 days, with both content and delivery data accessible for 3 to 7 days at no extra cost. Brevo retains delivery statistics for a similar or longer period, but does not store the complete email content for later preview or inspection.
3. Mailtrap has separate streams (server endpoints) for bulk and transactional emails. This allows you to send marketing campaigns and transactional messages independently, helping to protect deliverability and keep analytics organized. Brevo supports both transactional and marketing emails, but they run through the same infrastructure unless you manually separate them by sender or IP.
4. Mailtrap features Actionable Analytics for both marketing campaigns and transactional emails, offering detailed engagement metrics, bounce and spam complaint tracking, as well as message-level inspection without extra tools. Brevo provides basic transactional stats and robust marketing campaign analytics, but the advanced technical diagnostics, such as full header inspection or spam score analysis, require additional solutions.
5. Mailtrap has no rigid rate limits for API sending (up to 500 emails per batch) and allows 10 concurrent SMTP connections per IP by default, with the option to raise this limit based on your use case. Brevo enforces stricter limits on SMTP connections and sending throughput, which can slow down delivery for high-volume workloads. 

Mailtrap and Brevo – Similarities

1. Support for sending with SMTP or REST API.
2. You can use return-path records and DKIM to verify a domain.
3. You can add a .csv file to import suppressed email addresses and contact lists.
4. Both services allow you to add unsubscribe options to emails without coding.
5. You can schedule email campaigns with both platforms.
6. Both platforms offer HTML and drag-and-drop builders for creating marketing email templates.
7. Both provide analytics for marketing campaign performance (opens, clicks, bounce rates, etc).
8. Both services support 2FA.

Terminology comparison

General step-by-step flow for migration

Getting started

To start sending emails with Mailtrap, you only need to create an account and verify your domain. Domain setup and verification are done from the Sending Domains menu. Read this article to learn more about that process. 

Domain verification

• Once your domain is verified using the provided DNS records, it undergoes an automatic Compliance Check. This process usually takes from a couple of minutes to several hours. You can send emails only after the Compliance Check is fully passed and you see the verified status next to your domain.

• Set unsubscribe options with Mailtrap and import your suppression lists from Brevo. As a reminder, import your email list and HTML templates into Mailtrap. 
• Optionally, create webhooks to receive information about bounces, spam complaints, opens, clicks, and other events.
• Enable open and click tracking to understand how customers interact with your emails.

Sending with Mailtrap SMTP

SMTP Endpoints

live.smtp.mailtrap.io bulk.smtp.mailtrap.io	smtp-relay.brevo.com

SMTP Ports

Port	Function	Mailtrap support	Brevo support
587	The recommended SMTP relay with TLS.
25	High traffic, blocked by some mailbox providers to avoid abuse.
2525	Alternative port, in case you encounter issues with other ports.
465	SSL/TLS encrypted SMTP connection

SMTP Configuration

Go to Sending Domains and click the verified domain you want to send emails from. Go to the Integration tab and click Integrate under Transactional or Bulk Stream, depending on the type of emails you’d like to send.

Copy and paste the credentials (for the stream you chose) into your app or project, and you’ll be ready to start sending emails. Read more about SMTP integration here.

Note: Turning TLS on is mandatory as mentioned in the credentials.

Sending with Mailtrap API

Mailtrap API tokens

Mailtrap automatically creates a token when you add a domain, and the token has a Domain Admin access permission by default. You can add or remove token permissions in the API Tokens menu under Settings.

For more information on how to manage API tokens, check our guide.

API Mapping

API type	Mailtrap	Brevo
The basics	General	Introduction
Email sending	Send email	smtp/email (Transactional)
User management	User management	Users API
Sandbox	Sandbox API

API Libraries

At the moment there are nine libraries available at Mailtrap.

Programming Language	Mailtrap	Brevo
Node.js	Node.js SDK	Node.js SDK
NodeMailer (Node.js)	NodeMailer SDK	Not supported
PHP	PHP SDK	PHP SDK
PHP (Laravel + Symphony)	PHP SDK	PHP SDK
Ruby	Ruby SDK	Ruby SDK
Ruby (ActionMailer)	ActionMailer SDK	Not supported
Python	Python SDK	Python SDK
Elixir	Elixir SDK	Not supported
Java	Java SDK	Java SDK

API Authentication

We use Bearer authentication. Pass the API token into the code under the header Authorization.

Permissions/User management

If you are on the Business plan or higher, you can add users to your account and manage their permissions. To do it, click the User Management menu under Settings, then the three dots (more menu) on the right. You can also manage users and permissions with API. 

Based on the permissions users get, they can view, access, and/or modify specific functionalities of an app. Note that a user needs Admin permissions to get authenticated and send emails via API.

Additionally, Mailtrap allows you to enable or disable app-based 2FA for all or some users within your account, with an option to enforce 2FA for all users. Check our 2FA guide for more details. 

If you want to learn more about managing users’ permissions, click this link ◀️.

ActionMailer Balancer for smooth migration

For Ruby on Rails applications, Mailtrap offers an ActionMailer Balancer that makes the migration smooth. 

ActionMailer extension allows for the proportional distribution of the email-sending load between two different sending services and mitigates sending risks.

After you install the Balancer in your application and make some minor configurations, it will extend ActionMailer’s sending method.

For more detailed info on the boilerplate and use in development, read the Mailtrap ActionMailer Balancer GitHub page.