Mailtrap or MailBots: capturing mail versus receiving it
Mailtrap's Email Sandbox and MailBots solve different problems. The sandbox is an SMTP server for staging, so your app sends to it instead of the internet and no customer ever gets a test email. MailBots is a real inbox, receiving mail delivered over the internet to a catch-all subdomain of your own domain, which end-to-end signup and OTP tests need. Starter costs $10 a month.
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Side by side
| Feature | Mailtrap Email Sandbox | MailBots |
|---|---|---|
| How mail arrives | Your app sends to the sandbox's SMTP server; Basic and above also get a sandbox address | Delivered over the internet to your subdomain's MX record |
| Entry paid plan | Basic: $17 / month, or $14 billed annually | Starter: $10 / month |
| Monthly volume | 500 on Basic, 5,000 on Team, 50,000 on Business | 5,000 on Starter, 25,000 on Pro |
| Price for 5,000 emails | Team: $42 / month, or $34 billed annually | Starter: $10 / month |
| Messages kept | 50 per sandbox on Basic, oldest removed first | Up to 250 MB for 72 hours on Starter |
| Your own domain | Not listed; sandbox addresses use Mailtrap's domain | Included on every paid plan |
| Users | 3 on Basic, 5 on Team, 50 on Business | 1 on Starter, 3 on Pro |
| HTML and spam checks | Included | Not offered |
| Free plan | 50 emails, 1 sandbox, no sandbox address | Browser extension and Telegram, no API |
| Ways to read mail | Web interface, API | REST API, signed webhooks, web inbox, POP3S, IMAPS |
Mailtrap figures are from its pricing page and its sandbox address documentation on 4 November 2026. Check both before you buy, because plans change.
When Mailtrap is the better choice
- You want staging to never email a real person. One SMTP setting captures everything your app sends.
- You want to inspect HTML rendering and spam scores before an email goes out.
- Several people review the same test mail. Every paid Mailtrap plan includes at least three users.
- You also want to send production email through the same vendor. MailBots never sends email.
When MailBots fits better
- You want to test the path a real user's email takes: your sending provider, the internet, DNS and an MX record. A sandbox that your app sends to directly skips all of it.
- You test email you do not send yourself, such as messages from an identity provider, a payment processor or another company's signup flow. Those senders deliver to an address, not to your SMTP settings.
- Your tests must use your own domain. Some signup forms and fraud filters reject known testing domains.
- You need volume at a low price: 5,000 messages a month for $10, where Mailtrap's 5,000-email plan costs $42.
- You want the verification code already extracted into an
otpfield, and signed webhooks as messages arrive.
Using both
The two fit together. Point staging's SMTP settings at Mailtrap so nothing leaks to real customers, and run end-to-end tests against a MailBots subdomain where the real delivery path matters. Mailtrap answers whether the right email was produced; MailBots answers whether it arrived.
To add MailBots, create a subdomain such as otp.example.com, add one TXT and one MX record as the DNS guide shows, then read messages through the API. The Playwright guide has a complete test.
Questions
Can MailBots replace Mailtrap's SMTP sandbox?
No. MailBots has no SMTP server for your app to send to, and it cannot stop mail from reaching real recipients. It only receives mail sent to your MailBots subdomain.
Can a Mailtrap sandbox receive email from other services?
On Basic and above, each sandbox has its own address on Mailtrap's domain that other services can send to, within the sandbox's message limit. MailBots does the same on your own domain, with every address on the subdomain accepted.
Is this comparison independent?
No. MailBots wrote it from public pricing pages and documentation, and you can read how the comparison was made. Mailtrap is a trademark of its owner, and MailBots is not affiliated with it.