Third-party comparison · not affiliated with either
Forward Email vs. Migadu: alias-and-forward vs. full mailbox host.
Forward Email's free tier gives unlimited domains and aliases but only forwards mail — it cannot send until you upgrade to Enhanced Protection at $3/mo, which adds 10 GB pooled storage and SMTP sending. Migadu has no free tier and starts at $19/yr for a full standalone mailbox with 5 GB IMAP storage and unlimited domains/mailboxes. Forward Email is cheaper to start and markets itself as 100% open-source; Migadu is the more direct full-mailbox host with more storage headroom at higher tiers.
Forward Email's free tier is forwarding-only — unlimited domains and aliases that route mail to an existing inbox, with no mailbox storage and no outbound sending until you pay. Migadu is a full mailbox host from its first paid tier: real IMAP storage, sending, and receiving on every plan.
They solve genuinely different problems, and this page — the honest, third-party comparison Forward Email's own blog doesn't publish — lines them up on their own pricing and docs.
Updated July 2, 2026 (2026-07-02)
I · The verdict
In one sentence.
Forward Email is the cheaper starting point and the more open-source option — a free forwarding tier plus a $3/mo Enhanced Protection plan that adds sending, unlimited aliases, and 100% open-source code. Migadu is the fuller mailbox host — real IMAP storage starting at $19/yr, with unlimited domains and mailboxes on every tier. If you mainly need aliases that forward to a Gmail-style inbox you already have, Forward Email is purpose-built for that. If you need an actual hosted mailbox with storage, Migadu is the more direct fit.
II · Feature by feature
Feature by feature.
- Free tierYes — unlimited domains, forwarding only, cannot send mailNo permanent free tier; entry paid plan is $19/yr
- Entry paid price$3/mo (Enhanced Protection, $36/yr)$19/yr (Micro)
- Mailbox storage on entry paid plan10 GB pooled storage (Enhanced Protection)5 GB (Micro)
- Outbound sending on entry paid planYes — SMTP sending, 9,000+ outbound messages/monthYes — standard SMTP sending, no stated monthly cap
- Domains per accountUnlimited on every tier, including freeUnlimited, fair-use
- AliasesUnlimited, no per-user feeUnlimited addresses
- Open source100% open-source software, per their own pricing pageBuilt on open-source technologies (server stack), not stated as fully open-source itself
- Pricing modelFlat per-account fee ($3 or $9/mo), not per-user, not per-GBFlat per-account fee, storage-tiered ($19–$990/yr)
- DMARC / API accessDMARC reporting and developer API included from Enhanced ProtectionNot detailed as a specific feature on public marketing pages
III · How to choose
Pick the right one.
Choose Forward Email if
You mainly need aliases that forward to an inbox you already have, or you want the option to start free.
- You want to try unlimited domains and aliases for free before paying anything.
- You care specifically about open-source code and DMARC reporting/API access.
- Your outbound volume is moderate — Enhanced Protection covers roughly 9,000+ sends/month.
Choose Migadu if
You want a real, standalone hosted mailbox with IMAP storage from day one, not a forwarding layer.
- You don't want mail routed through a second inbox — you want Migadu to be the mailbox itself.
- You need more storage headroom per domain as you scale (up to 500 GB on Maxi).
- You'd rather pick a plan by storage tier than think about outbound send-volume limits.
IV · A deeper look
Forwarding-first vs. mailbox-first
Forward Email's architecture starts from forwarding: the free tier explicitly cannot send mail, only receive and forward it to an inbox you already run elsewhere. Paying unlocks SMTP sending and real (if pooled, 10 GB) storage, but the product's identity is still built around aliases and routing rules layered on top of your existing inbox. Migadu skips that layer entirely — even its cheapest $19/yr tier is a standalone mailbox with its own IMAP storage, sending, and receiving, no second inbox required.
If you already have a Gmail or other primary inbox and just want clean aliases across many domains, Forward Email's model fits naturally. If you want one self-contained mailbox per domain setup, Migadu's model is the more direct match.
V · A deeper look
Openness and transparency
Forward Email markets itself explicitly as 100% open-source software with a documented API and DMARC reporting built in — a meaningful claim for anyone who wants to audit or self-host the underlying code. Migadu describes its own operation as built on open-source technologies (i.e., the components it runs are open source), which is a narrower claim than Forward Email's — Migadu's own application layer isn't advertised as open source on its public pages as of the checked-on date.
VI · Monthly cost, low to high
The numbers, in US dollars.
| Tier | Forward Email | Migadu |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free — unlimited domains, forwarding only, no sending | — (no permanent free tier) |
| Entry | Enhanced Protection — $3/mo, 10 GB pooled, unlimited aliases, sending enabled | Micro — $19/yr ($1.58/mo effective), 5 GB, unlimited mailboxes |
| Mid | Team — $9/mo, 10 GB, team management | Mini — $90/yr ($7.50/mo effective), 30 GB |
| Top | Enterprise — $250/mo, custom, dedicated support | Maxi — $990/yr ($82.50/mo effective), 500 GB |
VII · A note from the people who make Folio
Editorial aside — not a sales pitch
Neither is a unified reading view across brands — Folio is a narrower, different tool.
Forward Email and Migadu both solve custom-domain mail well — one alias-first and open-source, one a full mailbox host. Folio targets a different problem: one operator with several distinct businesses who wants one inbox, not several accounts or a forwarding layer.
Where Folio fits
- You run multiple brand domains and want the reply-From address auto-selected per message, without configuring per-domain aliases or forwarding rules yourself.
- You want per-domain DKIM handled at setup instead of managing DNS records for each domain, whether forwarded or hosted.
- You want a genuinely unified reading pane across domains — a distinct concern from where the mail is ultimately stored or forwarded.
Where it doesn't — pick Forward Email or Migadu instead
- You want a free way to route several domains into an inbox you already use — Forward Email's free tier is purpose-built for exactly that.
- You want the cheapest fully open-source option and care specifically about auditable code — that's Forward Email's stated differentiator.
- You want a plain, standalone mailbox host with generous storage tiers and don't need multi-brand identity switching — Migadu does that well on its own.
Common questions
Questions readers ask.
Can Forward Email's free plan actually send email, or just receive it?
- Per Forward Email's own pricing page, the free plan is "email forwarding only," explicitly stating you cannot send mail on it. Outbound SMTP sending requires the paid Enhanced Protection plan ($3/mo) or higher.
Is Migadu open source?
- Migadu describes itself as built and operated on top of open-source technologies, which refers to its underlying stack rather than a claim that Migadu's own application code is open source. Forward Email makes the more specific and stronger claim of being "100% Open-Source Software" on its pricing page — verify each vendor's exact wording if open-source licensing is a hard requirement for you.
Which is cheaper for hosting several domains?
- For forwarding-only use with no sending, Forward Email's free tier costs nothing regardless of domain count. Once you need actual mailbox storage and sending, Forward Email's Enhanced Protection ($3/mo, 10 GB pooled) and Migadu's Micro ($19/yr, 5 GB) are close in headline price but structured differently — Forward Email pools storage across all your domains under one flat fee, while Migadu's price is set by storage tier per account.
Does Migadu offer a forwarding-only free tier like Forward Email?
- No — Migadu's pricing page lists four paid tiers starting at $19/yr with no free option, and every tier includes standalone mailbox hosting rather than forwarding-only routing.
Sources & further reading
Where the claims come from.
Adjacent comparisons
Other head-to-heads.
Open the first letter
Match the model to how you actually work, not just the price.
Forwarding-first and mailbox-first are genuinely different architectures, not just different prices. Read both vendors' own docs — linked below — before deciding which model fits your mail flow.
Updated July 2, 2026 (2026-07-02)