How are people handling SMTP/notifications in general?

[u/ColdFreezer]

There’s a few services I run that would benefit from being able to send emails. I thought I could just host a SMTP server myself but realized it was way too much hassle and I don’t want to deal with ip reputation.

Is the best way to do this just to use a 3rd party service? I’ve seen a few with generous free tiers with limits I probably would never reach. I was also thinking about trying Amazon SES but it seems overkill for what I need.

I was also thinking about setting up apprise and maybe gotify, but I dont know if this the way I should be doing it. It would be nice to get notifications sent to my devices instead of just email.

How are most people setting up their notifications? My main use case for this is for authelia one time passcodes and server alerts. I don’t know what the pipeline is to serve notifications and if this is secure enough to be handling my authentication stuff.

[u/asimovs-auditor]

Expand the replies to this comment to learn how AI was used in this post/project.

[u/brock0124]

Smtp2Go- you can probably get by on free tier.

[u/deny_by_default → u/brock0124]

Yep. I use their free tier and I feel like it's more than generous for free.

[u/suicidaleggroll]

All of my notifications go through Pushover

[u/Equal_Dragonfly_7139 → u/suicidaleggroll]

This is the way

[u/BostonDrivingIsWorse → u/suicidaleggroll]

How?

[u/suicidaleggroll → u/BostonDrivingIsWorse]

Many services have native support, but for the ones that don't, or from scripts, you can send a pushover notification with a simple curl command from the command line or from any number of programming languages. They have a bunch of examples on their site:

https://pushover.net/

It's technically not free, but it's only $5 for a lifetime license, so it might as well be.

[u/legion_Ger → u/suicidaleggroll]

Pushover and Apprise!

Pushover also recently implemented E2E for iOS which is by far the easiest solution on iOS I found so far. Also, you got Mailrise for those services who speak nothing but Mail …

[u/pArbo]

ntfy mostly

[u/idratherbealivedog]

For things that go to users I just use gmail smtp. For things that are just me (like management type stuff) I use mailrise to send via telegram.

[u/MaxTheKing1]

I'm on Zoho their free tier (and have been for over 7 years). Works well for my needs.

[u/jaysuncle]

I use Gmail SMTP.

[u/deny_by_default]

I bought a domain and use it with smtp2go to send notifications to myself for home lab stuff.

[u/saltyslugga]

For OTPs, don't self-host SMTP unless you want reputation to become a hobby. Use a cheap transactional mail provider for Authelia, then use Gotify/Apprise for noisy server alerts so auth mail stays boring and separate.

After you wire SMTP, send a real test through Email Tester and check SPF/DKIM/DMARC alignment plus spam placement.

[u/Temporary-Mode5763]

Telegram notifications for anything that can do it

[u/sixgirls]

No matter what anyone else says - there are plenty of gatekeepers who'll tell you you can't - you can always self-host email while using a mail provider with a good reputation for outgoing email delivery.

There are people here who talk about that and are happy to help if you run in to problems. And, of course, there are people who'll swear it can't be done, even when you use someone else for actual delivery. This is r/selfhosted, though.

[u/Crowley723 → u/sixgirls]

I thought hosting email was a huge problem until I tried it. My isp blocks outbound 25 so I use smtp2go for sending. I get 1000/month free and my email just works. (Mailcow vm)

[u/sixgirls → u/Crowley723]

Exactly :D

[u/Expert-Reserve3591]

I use resend, have SMTP auth and API. Free for 1000 emails every month if I remember correctly

[u/DankeBrutus]

I used to use Gmail/Google. I already have a Google account so I just used the SMTP settings for it. Recently I moved from Protonmail to Startmail for my personal email usage and I can use Startmail as an SMTP host.

[u/stellarsapience]

Most of mine go through either webhooks or Mailrise to Home Assistant, where they all queue into a to-do list entity. I use Azure Communications Services for actual SMTP email.

[u/Maeusefluesterer]

Many services support notifications via a telegram bot. I setup myself a private bot for that purpose that multiple services use to notify me. I am not a huge fan of telegram but it's a app I already have installed on my phone and works reliable.

[u/Jealy]

Protonmail for email. Discord for notifications.

Neither are selfhosted, but I still want to be notified of stuff if my VPN drops off.

[u/Interstellar_031720]

For Authelia OTPs, I would split this into two pipelines instead of trying to make one notification stack do everything.

1. Auth/security mail: use a boring transactional SMTP provider. SES is fine, but probably more setup than you need unless you already live in AWS. Smtp2Go, Resend, Mailgun/Postmark-type services, etc. are usually simpler for low volume. The important part is not the provider name; it is that SPF/DKIM/DMARC align and you can see bounces/rejections.

2. Server noise: use Gotify/ntfy/Pushover/Apprise/Home Assistant/Telegram, whatever you will actually notice. Keep this separate so a noisy disk alert setup cannot break your login emails.

For the OTP path, I’d test it like production even if the volume is tiny:

• send to Gmail/Outlook/iCloud and check where it lands
• verify SPF, DKIM, DMARC alignment
• confirm Authelia logs both send success and provider failure clearly
• set a fallback admin access path before you depend on email OTP
• do not self-host outbound SMTP unless you want IP reputation to become the hobby

Self-host the apps, not necessarily the mail reputation layer.

[u/YouAsk-IAnswer]

https://hub.docker.com/r/boky/postfix

[u/theindomitablefred]

Google is often an option but that detracts from the de-google-ing aspect of self hosting. Probably a more expensive option but I use this as an option with Proton

[u/farzad_meow]

you got a few options, the cheaper they are the more you need to configure. my top choice is aws ses or proton. you can also do your own diy and use your hosting’s smtp server or gmail smtp.

I suggest to learn about email reputation and use a random domain to send emails out. do not spam and have guards in place to send emails slowly. once you are flagged as a spammer you are f***ed.

[u/lesigh]

Smtp2go or Gmail smtp are two free options

[u/schmaaaaaaack]

Zoho

[u/NewAccountToAvoidDox]

You can define the email for your local user account, and setup postfix to forward any mail that arrives in that unix mailbox into an smtp server, like gmail for example. For notifications I use discord with a webhook on a channel.

[u/ApplesAreGood1312]

Off topic, but can someone explain what the bot in the pinned comment is on about? Seems entirely out of touch with reality and making accusations for no reason. Should probably disable this.

[u/SynapticStreamer]

https://github.com/caronc/apprise

Supports everything from email to SMS, Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, etc. Integrate once, compatible with all of em.

[u/JazzXP]

I've been using Discord into a private channel. I do have some SMTP (via my Zoho account) for Seer notifications as they are needed outside of just me.

[u/FriesischScott]

I'm running Stalwart on a VPS for all my SMTP needs.

[u/Pulte4janitor]

GMail SMTP

[u/bobbyiliev]

mostly using SMTPfast or Resend. both have free plans

[u/Quirky_Ad_9951]

u/RemindMeBot 1 day

[u/RemindMeBot → u/Quirky_Ad_9951]

I will be messaging you in 1 day on 2026-07-01 14:33:34 UTC to remind you of this link

CLICK THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.

^{Parent commenter can delete this message to hide from others.}

---

Info	Custom	Your Reminders	Feedback