Which Azure Email Service to Choose for 2021

Originally published at https://adamtheautomator.com by June Castillote on January 5, 2021.

Do you need to deploy/test scripts or applications in Azure that need to send emails? If you haven’t figured it out yet, let me tell you now — there is no native Azure email service that exists. Don’t worry, though; you’re not necessarily in trouble.

Your go-to solution would be to use a third-party SMTP relay or smart host. But you cannot use just any smart host; it has to be one that supports TLS and port numbers other than port 25. The reason to avoid using port 25 is that Microsoft has banned outbound SMTP communication from Azure.

In this article, you’ll learn about some of the most popular hosted email delivery service solutions you can explore as an Azure email service.

FYI: This post has affiliate links. If you click on and purchase any of these services, ATA gets a small cut.

Third-Party Azure Email Service Options

Several Azure email service alternatives are available. There is not one right way to decide which email service to choose. But, the deciding factors mostly revolve around reliability, security, and cost.

Understandably, not all email services in existence can be covered in this article. The list below shows the email services that offer free plans so that you may test and use them before deciding to possibly upgrade or subscribe to a paid plan.

Note that there are generally two means of using these services: SMTP relay or Email API. SMTP relay means using an SMTP server address and a port number. On the other hand, Email API requires you to integrate the service into your code and communicate using HTTP.

Related: Send-MailMessage: The PowerShell Way to Send Email

As you further explore these different email services, you may notice that most are geared towards marketing campaigns and newsletters. But, that doesn’t mean you cannot use their services for any purposes other than marketing.

SendGrid (Free, Paid)

Perhaps what makes SendGrid stand out from the rest is that it can be deployed from the Azure Portal. You can find…