- You want to know where mail actually lands. Unspam delivers to real seed inboxes at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Zoho, ProtonMail and AOL and reports inbox vs spam for each. Mailtrap's Email Sandbox captures messages in a fake inbox and simulates checks; its own guides point you to third-party seed-list tools for real placement.
- You want client previews and an AI eye-tracking heatmap alongside spam scoring, in one plan from $9/mo. Mailtrap previews HTML across clients but has no heatmap and no AI assistant.
- You want one subscription for testing. Mailtrap sells Email Sandbox and Email API/SMTP as separate products, so you may pay for both; Unspam's spam tests, placement, previews and heatmaps are in a single plan.
- You want a free tier that renews monthly (10 spam tests, 10 previews, 10 heatmaps, 3 inbox placement tests, AI assistant included, no card) with a 14-day no-questions refund on paid plans.
// Unspam vs Mailtrap
A Mailtrap alternative that tests real inbox placement, not just a sandbox
Mailtrap is a developer email platform with two sides: an Email Sandbox that captures test emails in a fake inbox for spam, auth and HTML checks, and an Email API/SMTP service for real sending. Unspam isn't a sandbox or a sending platform. It delivers test emails to real seed inboxes at 6+ providers and adds client previews and AI heatmaps, free to start, paid from $9/mo.
Compared from public pricing and product pages, June 2026.
Which one fits you?
- You're a developer who needs to capture outgoing emails from a staging or QA app in a fake SMTP inbox before anything reaches real users. That sandbox workflow is Mailtrap's core strength, and Unspam doesn't do it.
- You need an actual sending platform. Mailtrap's Email API/SMTP sends production email with logs and analytics (free up to 4,000 emails/mo); Unspam is a testing tool and sends nothing on your behalf.
- You want self-serve API access on a free or low tier. Mailtrap's API is central to the product; Unspam's API is gated behind its custom-priced White Label plan.
Unspam vs Mailtrap, feature by feature.
Based on public product pages and documentation. Spotted something outdated? Tell us in the chat and we’ll fix it.
Feature
Unspam
Mailtrap
Free plan or trial
Free plan, no card
Free: 50 sandbox test emails/mo
First paid plan
$9/mo
$14/mo billed annually (Email Sandbox Basic)
Spam score testing
Yes
Yes
Inbox placement tests
Yes
—Nosandbox simulation, not real seeds
Client previews & screenshots
Yes
Yes
AI attention heatmap
Yes
—No
Blacklist monitoring
Yes
Partialper-test blocklist check
SPF / DKIM / DMARC checks
Yes
Yes
AI fix recommendations
Yes
—No
Scheduled automatic tests
Yes
—No
API access
YesWhite Label plan
Yes
Email verification
Yes
—No
Automated inbox warmup
—No
—No
DMARC report monitoring
Partialchecked per test
Partialvalidated per test
Deliverability consulting
Yesseparate service
PartialBusiness/Enterprise sending plans
What each one costs.
Mailtrap prices verified June 2026. Email Sandbox (testing) and Email API/SMTP (sending) are separate products billed separately; you may need both. Sandbox annual billing saves up to ~20%. The figures here are the lowest-volume tiers; higher volumes cost more.
- Free $0
10 spam tests, 10 previews, 10 heatmaps, 3 inbox placement tests per month. AI assistant included.
- Basic $9/mo
50 spam tests, 50 previews, 10 heatmaps, 10 inbox placement tests per month. Historical results.
- Business $19/mo
200 spam tests, 200 previews, 50 heatmaps, 50 inbox placement tests per month. Historical results.
- Agency from $29/mo
500 spam tests, 500 previews, 250 heatmaps, 250 inbox placement tests per month.
- White Label Custom
Spam tests, previews, heatmaps, and inbox tests sized to your contract. Custom API access.
- Email Sandbox Free $0
50 test emails/month, 1 sandbox, 10 emails per sandbox, 1 user; spam score, SPF/DKIM/DMARC and HTML checks
- Email Sandbox Basic $14/mo billed annually ($17 monthly)
500 test emails/month, 1 sandbox, 50 emails per sandbox, 3 users, 100 forwarded emails/month
- Email Sandbox Team $34/mo billed annually ($42 monthly)
5,000 test emails/month, 5 sandboxes, 200 emails per sandbox, 5 users
- Email Sandbox Business $99/mo billed annually ($123 monthly)
50,000 test emails/month, 50 sandboxes, 600 emails per sandbox, 50 users, 2,000 forwarded emails/month
- Email API/SMTP Free $0
4,000 emails/month real sending, 150/day, 1 domain, 1 user, 3-day log retention. Separate product from Email Sandbox.
- Email API/SMTP Basic From $15/mo
From 10,000 emails/month, 5 domains, 3 users, 5-day log retention, no dedicated IP. Usage-based; scales to Business and Enterprise.
Mailtrap pricing and feature information was collected from publicly available sources in June 2026 and may have changed since; it is provided for general comparison only and is not guaranteed to reflect current offers. Confirm current pricing on the vendor's website. Mailtrap is a trademark of its respective owner. Unspam is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mailtrap.
Why teams move from Mailtrap to Unspam.
A sandbox is a simulation, not placement
Mailtrap's Email Sandbox captures your test email in a fake SMTP inbox and runs spam, authentication and HTML checks against it. It does not deliver to real mailbox providers, and Mailtrap's own guides point users to third-party seed-list tools for real-world inbox placement. Unspam sends to live seed inboxes at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Zoho, ProtonMail and AOL and reports inbox vs spam for each, in about 30 seconds.
Previews and heatmaps in one plan
Mailtrap previews HTML across clients in its sandbox, which is genuinely useful, but it has no attention heatmap and no AI assistant to explain fixes. Unspam includes device and client previews, an AI eye-tracking heatmap and an AI assistant on every plan, including the free one.
One subscription, not two products
Mailtrap splits testing (Email Sandbox) and sending (Email API/SMTP) into separate, separately billed products. Unspam bundles spam testing, inbox placement, previews, heatmaps and blacklist checks into a single plan from $9/mo, with a 14-day no-questions-asked refund and 2 months free on annual billing.
// FAQ
Unspam vs Mailtrap, answered.
Is Unspam a full replacement for Mailtrap?
It depends what you use Mailtrap for. For pre-send deliverability testing, Unspam goes further: it adds real-seed inbox placement across 6+ providers, an AI heatmap and an AI assistant on top of spam scoring and previews. But it does not replace Mailtrap's developer sandbox (capturing app emails in a fake SMTP inbox) or its Email API for production sending. Unspam is a testing tool and sends no mail on your behalf.
How does the pricing compare?
Mailtrap bills Email Sandbox and Email API/SMTP separately: Sandbox is free for 50 test emails/month, then $14/mo billed annually for Basic; the sending API is free up to 4,000 emails/month, then from $15/mo. Unspam is one subscription, free to start and paid from $9/mo, with a 14-day refund and 2 months free on annual billing.
What is the biggest functional difference?
Simulation versus real placement. Mailtrap's sandbox captures a message in a fake inbox and simulates spam, auth and HTML checks so developers can debug before sending; it does not deliver to real providers. Unspam delivers test emails to live seed inboxes and reports where each one lands, then adds client previews and an AI eye-tracking heatmap. Neither tool offers inbox warmup, and Unspam checks SPF/DKIM/DMARC per test rather than monitoring DMARC aggregate reports.
How do the free tiers compare?
Mailtrap's Email Sandbox free tier allows 50 test emails a month in one sandbox, and its sending API free tier allows 4,000 emails a month. Unspam's free plan renews monthly with 10 spam tests, 10 previews, 10 heatmaps and 3 inbox placement tests, with the AI assistant included and no credit card required.
// see for yourself