5 Best Mailscale Alternatives & Competitors To Build Strong Email Infrastructure
If you’re looking for the best Mailscale alternatives, you’re probably running into issues with its limitations.
Mailscale helps with domain warm-up, inbox placement tracking, and sender reputation management, but many users face challenges such as:
- Limited automation for large-scale warm-up and monitoring
- High pricing that’s tough for startups or agencies managing multiple inboxes
- A setup process that isn’t beginner-friendly
- Scaling problems when working across multiple domains or client accounts
To help you find better options, we reviewed its alternatives and shortlisted five tools that stand out as more reliable and cost-effective options.
Before diving into the detailed reviews, here are the key takeaways to help you see how they compare at a glance.
Mailscale Alternatives Key Takeaways
- Mailscale helps with inbox warm-up and deliverability but struggles with automation, scalability, and beginner-friendly setup.
- Mailforge and Infraforge stand out for agencies and enterprises, offering multi-domain support, advanced reporting, and transparent pricing.
- Maildoso and Mailreach are budget-friendly, simple options for freelancers or small teams starting out.
- Instantly adds AI-driven automation and flexible campaign support but can become costly as inbox volume scales.
- Overall, Mailforge provides the best balance of automation, deliverability, and scalability, making it the strongest all-around Mailscale alternative.
With these key points in mind, let’s dive deeper into how each Mailscale alternative compares and which one best fits your email infrastructure needs.
How the Mailscale Alternatives Compare?
Why It Makes Sense to Consider Mailscale Alternatives
- No Domain Reputation Insights
Users said they can’t see domain health scores or reputation status, which makes it hard to track deliverability risks.
- Unclear Pricing
Although domains are listed at $9–13, some reported being charged $15 instead, leaving them feeling misled.
- No Flexibility to use Own Domain
MailScale requires domains to be purchased directly through the platform. Users wanted the flexibility to connect their own domains for cost savings.
- No Inbox Display Photos
A few noted you can’t add profile pictures to inboxes. They felt this small detail could lower reply rates. - Lack of Inbox Health Alerts
Users said there’s no way to know if an inbox is flagged for spam, bouncing, or facing deliverability issues until problems show up in campaigns.
MailScale is easy to set up, but users felt it lacks transparency in pricing and doesn’t provide enough visibility into domain or inbox health.
How We Evaluated These Mailscale Alternatives
To find the best alternatives for automated warm-up and robust email infrastructure, we focused on a checklist that directly impacts inbox placement, domain health, and long-term deliverability:
- Whether the tool runs a natural automated warm-up process with real sends and replies.
- How well it provides deliverability monitoring and infrastructure reporting to track inbox placement, domain health, and blacklist alerts.
- Whether it includes domain validation via SPF, DKIM, and DMARC checks.
- If it supports scalability with multiple domains and inboxes for freelancers, teams, and agencies.
- Whether the setup is simple and integrations work smoothly with Gmail, Outlook, and outreach platforms.
- How clear and transparent the pricing is when adding more domains or mailboxes.
By using this flow, we were able to narrow down the list to the most reliable Mailscale alternatives for 2025.
Here’s How Propeller Scaled From 500 to 10,000+ Customers
Propeller leveraged Mailforge’s cold email infrastructure to scale outreach, maintain inbox placement, and convert campaigns into high-value customers.
👉 [Read the full case study →]
See the exact automation strategies and results that powered their growth.
5 Best Mailscale Alternatives We tested
These top five Mailscale alternatives offer automation, multi-domain support, and advanced tracking to help your emails land safely in inboxes.
1. Mailforge
Mailforge provides full cold email infrastructure with automated DNS setup (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), inbox monitoring, and SSL/domain masking.
Setup takes less than five minutes, and it supports managing hundreds of domains and mailboxes for teams of any size.
Evaluation of Deliverability Factors
Key Features That Differentiate Mailforge
What Users Like About Mailforge
- All-in-one deliverability tool handles warmup, sending, throttling, and reply management.
- Reliable automation saves hours of manual work
- Strong focus on inbox placement, not just warm-up
- Transparent reporting makes it easy to track progress
- Scales well for agencies handling multiple clients
What Are the Limitations?
- Advanced features may feel overwhelming for solo users
- Pricing is higher compared to very basic warm-up tools
- Some integrations need manual tweaks during the first setup
What You’ll Pay for Mailforge
- Domains: 5 × $70/year per .com domain - includes setup and DNS checks.
- Mailbox Slots: 5 slots
- Yearly: $13/month per slot
- Monthly: $15/month per slot
- Minimum 10 slots required
- Yearly: $13/month per slot
- Includes: Automated warm-up, inbox hosting, maintenance, and expert support
- Is there a free trial?
Mailforge requires domains and mailboxes to function, so no free trial is offered. You can still explore the app after signing up without adding them.
Why Mailforge is better than Mailscale
Who It’s Best For
Mailforge is the best fit for:
- Agencies managing several domains and clients
- Sales and marketing teams running high-volume outreach
- Startups that want automation without technical hassle
- Businesses are serious about building long-term email infrastructure
Here’s what Isabella has to say about Mailforge:
2. Infraforge
Infraforge combines warm-up with complete domain authentication and blacklist monitoring, making it suitable for teams managing large volumes of inboxes.
It supports 100+ domains, provides detailed reporting on domain health, and ensures sending compliance across multiple client accounts.
Compared to Mailscale, it’s better suited for mid-to-large teams managing 100+ domains.
Key Features That Differentiate Infraforge
What Users Like About Infraforge?
- Combines inbox warm-up, SPF/DKIM checks, inbox monitoring, and blacklist alerts in one platform.
- Easy to manage multiple domains and inboxes efficiently.
- Simple, intuitive setup with helpful onboarding.
- Free plan available to test core features.
What Are the Limitations?
- Documentation could be more detailed for advanced use cases.
What You’ll Pay for Infraforge
- Per Domain: $70/year per domain (~$5.83/month) - includes domain setup and DNS checks.
- Per Mailbox Slot:
- Yearly: $17/mailbox/month
- Quarterly: $20/mailbox/month
- Yearly: $17/mailbox/month
Includes warm-up, inbox monitoring, and deliverability tracking. Mailbox slots can be reused even after deleting an inbox.
- Example: 5 domains + 5 mailbox slots for 1,000 emails/month
- Domains: 5 × $70 = $350/year (~$29.16/month)
- Mailboxes (Yearly): 5 × $17 = $85/month
- Total Monthly Estimate: ~$114.16/month
- Domains: 5 × $70 = $350/year (~$29.16/month)
Why Infraforge is better than Mailscale
Who It’s Best For
Infraforge is best suited for:
- Consultants managing multiple client inboxes
- Agencies that want a full deliverability infrastructure, not just a warm-up
- Teams needing automated monitoring and blacklist protection
- Businesses want to avoid domain reputation risks before they grow
3. Maildoso
Maildoso offers simple warm-up and domain validation for smaller teams.
It supports up to 100 domains with straightforward health tracking and reporting.
Maildoso is a lighter option for teams that want basic protection at a lower entry point.
monitoring.
While it doesn’t have as advanced reporting as Mailforge, Maildoso keeps inboxes active and reduces spam risk, making it suitable for teams that value simple infrastructure management.
Key Features That Differentiate Maildoso
What Users Like About Maildoso?
- Fast setup in 10–15 minutes.
- Ability to create multiple domains and inboxes in bulk.
- Granular deliverability reporting for better tracking.
- Master the inbox feature to manage replies efficiently.
- Simple, easy-to-use interface for basic tasks.
What Are the Limitations?
- Limited DNS setup and control for advanced users.
- Uses a shared warm-up pool, which can affect placement.
- No monthly billing option; may be restrictive for some.
- Non-standard domains like .xyz may not be fully supported.
- Lacks inbox grouping or folder organization.
- Support can be slow during outages.
- CRM or Smartlead integrations may occasionally glitch.
What You’ll Pay for Maildoso?
- Starter Plan: 32 mailboxes + 8 domains for $100/month (billed quarterly) - about $3.10 per mailbox/month.
- Growth Plan: 68 mailboxes + 17 domains for $166/month (billed quarterly) - about $2.44 per mailbox/month.
- Scale Plan: 400 mailboxes + 100 domains for $733/month (billed quarterly) - about $1.83 per mailbox/month.
- Annual Discounts: Paying yearly reduces mailbox costs to as low as $1.40/month, making it ideal for agencies or teams planning long-term use.
- Tip: The more mailboxes you add, the lower the per-mailbox cost.
Why Maildoso is better than Mailscale
Who It’s Best For
Maildoso is the best fit for:
- Freelancers and consultants handling small campaigns
- Small businesses looking for budget-friendly inbox protection
- Teams that want warm-up and monitoring without extra complexity
4. Instantly
Instantly combines warm-up with AI-managed engagement, such as handling replies and pauses.
It also supports deliverability reporting and integrates with major sending platforms.
Where Mailscale emphasizes infrastructure, Instantly is often chosen by users who want automation tied directly to their outreach workflows.
Key Features That Differentiate Instantly
What Users Like About Instantly?
- Intuitive interface suitable for both individuals and teams.
- Fast setup for warm-up, domains, and campaigns.
- Clean reporting on engagement and performance.
- Scales smoothly from solo users to large teams.
What Are the Limitations?
- Support can be slow during urgent issues.
- Inbox disconnections may occur without alerts.
- “Done-for-you” inboxes can deactivate unexpectedly.
- Some users report occasional billing bugs and glitches.
- Platform updates may occasionally break existing workflows.
- Analytics can feel incomplete or laggy.
- Pricing increases quickly as more inboxes are added.
What You’ll Pay for Instantly
- Solo Plan: $42.30/month for basic warm-up credits, suitable for individuals or small campaigns.
- Supersonic Plan: $87.30/month for higher volume and additional features.
- Hyper Credits Plan: $177.30/month for very high-volume senders.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for large-scale teams and agencies.
Why Instantly is better than Mailscale
Who It’s Best For
- Freelancers running small outreach campaigns
- Startups testing cold email campaigns
- Small teams wanting a warm-up with simple outreach
5. Mailreach
Mailreach provides stable warm-up and basic infrastructure support, including limited SPF/DKIM validation and inbox activity tracking.
It’s quick to set up and works best for freelancers or small teams managing only a few domains.
Unlike Mailscale, which targets broader infrastructure, Mailreach keeps the focus on simple email warm-up without added complexity.
Key Features That Differentiate Mailreach
What Users Like About Mailreach
- Very beginner-friendly setup; can get started in under 5 minutes.
- Delivers solid warm-up results without requiring technical expertise.
- Stable and safe performance for warming domains gradually.
What Are the Limitations?
- No support if your domain is already in trouble, e.g., blacklisted.
- Lacks advanced troubleshooting tools for domain or IP issues.
- Doesn’t scale well for managing 10+ inboxes or multiple clients.
- Support response can be slow on lower-tier plans.
- It can become expensive for high-volume sending.
What You’ll Pay for Mailreach
- 1–5 inboxes: $25/inbox per month - includes basic warm-up, monitoring, and reporting.
- 6–20 inboxes: $19.50/inbox per month - includes advanced warm-up, inbox health checks, and engagement tracking.
- 21–50 inboxes: $18/inbox per month - includes bulk warm-up, domain monitoring, and deliverability insights.
- 50+ inboxes: $16/inbox per month - includes full automation, spam protection, and priority support.
Why Mailreach is better than Mailscale
Who It’s Best For
- Freelancers managing small campaigns
- Startups testing cold email outreach
- Teams that want a simple warm-up plus basic automation
How to Choose the Best Mailscale Alternative
Finding the right Mailscale alternative depends on your team size, outreach goals, and infrastructure needs. Here’s a quick guide:
Final Thoughts
There isn’t one “best” Mailscale alternative for everyone, the right choice depends on your scale, goals, and how much control you need over deliverability.
- Maildoso and Mailreach are practical for freelancers or small teams that only need straightforward warm-up and inbox monitoring.
- Instantly sits in the middle for teams running flexible campaigns where engagement tracking matters.
- Infraforge is better suited for agencies and enterprises that manage 100+ domains and require compliance oversight.
- Mailforge provides the fastest way to get a full infrastructure ready, with automated DNS setup, real-time monitoring, and scalability across domains.
If you’re unsure where to begin, start by testing Mailforge with a few domains.
It gives you a clear view of how modern email infrastructure works and helps you decide whether to scale up or pair it with lighter tools for specific use cases.