SendPigeon vs MailHog
MailHog is a popular open-source email testing tool for local development. SendPigeon CLI offers similar local SMTP capture, plus a seamless path from development to production.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | SendPigeon | MailHog |
|---|---|---|
| Local SMTP server SendPigeon on port 4125, MailHog on port 1025. | ||
| Web UI to view emails SendPigeon at localhost:4100, MailHog at localhost:8025. | ||
| No install required SendPigeon runs via npx. MailHog requires brew, docker, or binary download. | ||
| Recent updates (2024+) MailHog's last release was 2020. Still works well for many use cases. | ||
| Works offline | ||
| API for captured emails MailHog has both UI and API to retrieve emails programmatically. | ||
| Works with any language Point any SMTP client to localhost and emails are captured. | ||
| Path to production SendPigeon: same SDK for dev and production, just change env var. MailHog is local-only. | ||
| SDK auto-routing Set SENDPIGEON_DEV=true and the SDK routes to localhost automatically. | ||
| Cloud email sandbox SendPigeon test keys capture emails in dashboard for CI/staging. MailHog is local-only. | ||
| Chaos Monkey (Jim) MailHog includes Jim for simulating failures. SendPigeon does not. | ||
| SMTP AUTH support MailHog supports SMTP authentication. SendPigeon dev server does not require it. |
Pricing Comparison
SendPigeon
All plans include multiple domains. No per-email fees.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose SendPigeon if...
- You want zero-install local email testing (just npx)
- You want to use the same SDK from dev to production
- You need cloud-based email capture for CI/staging
- You're starting a new project and want integrated tooling
Choose MailHog if...
- You need SMTP AUTH for testing authentication flows
- You want the Chaos Monkey (Jim) for failure simulation
- You have existing MailHog integrations you don't want to change
- You prefer Go binaries over npx/Node.js
Ready to try SendPigeon?
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