I'm building a mobile backend and need outbound email for notifications

For a mobile backend, the usual options for outbound notification email are:

1. Email API service
   Best for transactional email. Examples:

   • SendGrid
   • Mailgun
   • Amazon SES
   • Postmark
   • SparkPost

   Why this is good:

   • Reliable delivery
   • Easy to integrate with backend code
   • Handles retries, bounces, suppression lists
   • Good for password resets, alerts, receipts, verification emails

2. SMTP server Use your own SMTP relay or a provider’s SMTP endpoint.

   • Works with most backend frameworks
   • Slightly older style, but still common

   Downside:

   • More operational overhead
   • Usually less visibility than APIs

3. Cloud provider email If you already use a cloud platform:

   • AWS SES if on AWS
   • Azure Communication Services / SendGrid if on Azure
   • Google Workspace SMTP relay for smaller/internal use cases

My recommendation

For a mobile backend, I’d usually pick:

• Amazon SES if you want the lowest cost and can handle a bit more setup
• Postmark if you want the simplest, best transactional email experience
• SendGrid if you want a popular all-around option with lots of docs and integrations

Things to check

• SPF, DKIM, and DMARC setup
• Bounce and complaint handling
• Rate limits
• Dedicated IP vs shared IP
• Templates for verification/reset/notification emails
• Webhooks for delivery events

If you want, I can also recommend the best provider based on your stack:

• AWS / GCP / Azure
• Python / Node / Go / Java
• expected email volume per month