SMTP server solution for Nextcloud snap. Free, Self-hosted or Crypto-friendly

dinucci · December 25, 2019, 11:35pm

Hello,

I’m running a Nextcloud snap instance on an Ubuntu VPS server and I would like a simple trustworthy solution to handle SMTP/IMAP in Nextcloud.

I already tried Gmail, did the research and the initial setup worked twice until it got blocked for suspicious activity by Google. I did the unlock Less Secure Apps thing and DisplayUnlockCaptcha is not available for my account. So Gmail is not an option
https://accounts.google.com/DisplayUnlockCaptcha
https://myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps?pli=1

I would like/need:

Free SMTP/IMAP email service
Self-hosted / low resources email server solution for my VPS
Crypto-friendly paid SMTP/IMAP email service. I’m from a country with a lot of capital-control so I’ve no PayPal/credit/debit cards available.

I already have a ProtonMail Plus paid solution but I couldn’t find a way to use it with Nextcloud.

Thanks in advance and Merry X’mas!

danb35 · December 26, 2019, 12:06am

I use Mailgun to send mail for a forum I run. Their free tier allows up to 10k messages/mo, which should be more than enough for any Nextcloud installation. It’s standard SMTP on port 587.

dinucci · December 26, 2019, 12:29am

Thanks for you quick answer, I went to Mailgun after you suggested but without Credit Card info on the registration they limit the functionality to avoid spammers, which is logical I guess… so I keep looking.

The only use would be Nextcloud notifications.

Running a Mailcow instance on a low-tier VPS 1-core 2gb RAM alongside Nextcloud snap install would be too much?

danb35 · December 26, 2019, 2:14am

Ah, I’d forgotten about that. I don’t know Mailcow one way or the other. But there are other mail hosts that Discourse recommends that provide a decent volume for free, and none of the others are marked as needing a credit card:

github.com

discourse/discourse/blob/master/docs/INSTALL-email.md

### Recommended Email Providers for Discourse

We strongly recommend using a dedicated email service. Email server setup and maintenance is _very_ difficult even for experienced system administrators, and getting any part of the complex required email setup wrong means your email won't be delivered, or worse, delivered erratically.

The following are template configurations for email service providers who offer generous free plans that work for most communities.

**Please note that in any email provider, you _must_ verify and use the subdomain, e.g. `discourse.example.com`. If you verify the domain only, e.g. `example.com`, mail will not be configured correctly.**

Enter these values when prompted by `./discourse-setup` per the [install guide](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/blob/master/docs/INSTALL-cloud.md#edit-discourse-configuration):

#### [Mailgun][gun] &mdash; 10k emails/month (with credit card)

    SMTP server address? smtp.mailgun.org
    SMTP user name?      [SMTP credentials for your domain under domains tab]
    SMTP password?       [SMTP credentials for your domain under domains tab]

#### [SendGrid][sg] &mdash; 40k emails on a 30 day trial

    SMTP server address? smtp.sendgrid.net
    SMTP user name?      apikey

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Mailjet looks like it could do the trick.

dinucci · December 26, 2019, 4:48am

From what I saw elasticemail.com will do the trick. The thing is now I see the IP of my VPS has been blacklisted for spamming a while ago, I just got it two months ago.

Will try to de-list it or just get another VPS and migrate.

Thanks a lot for your answers, will update when get everything working.

admorgan · December 31, 2019, 4:26pm

I use smtp2go.com. Their free tier is 10000 e-mails a month. You need a credit card to move up to the paid tier, but unless you are hosting a very busy Nextcloud site it should work for you. It is also cypto friendly.

They are aggressive with limiting spam, I have received a call asking why so many people were marking me as spam on a marketing list. But they were helpful when I demonstrated I was doing all the GDPR things and had the proper records.