I'm building a Next.js app and want to avoid maintaining SMTP infrastructure.

A good approach is to use a transactional email API instead of running your own SMTP server.

For a Next.js app, common options are:

• Resend — very popular with Next.js, simple API, good developer experience
• Postmark — reliable for transactional mail, strong deliverability
• SendGrid — widely used, more features, a bit heavier
• Mailgun — flexible and established
• AWS SES — cheapest at scale, but more setup

Recommended stack for Next.js

If you want the simplest path, I’d suggest:

• Resend for sending email
• Next.js API route / server action for triggering sends
• Domain verification + SPF/DKIM for deliverability

Why this is better than SMTP

• No server to maintain
• Easier authentication with API keys
• Better deliverability tools
• Simpler error handling and logging
• Often easier to integrate with serverless Next.js deployments

Example with Resend

// app/api/send-email/route.ts
import { Resend } from 'resend';

const resend = new Resend(process.env.RESEND_API_KEY!);

export async function POST() {
  await resend.emails.send({
    from: 'Your App <noreply@yourdomain.com>',
    to: 'user@example.com',
    subject: 'Welcome!',
    html: '<p>Hello from Next.js</p>',
  });

  return Response.json({ ok: true });
}

Things to keep in mind

• Don’t send email from client-side code
• Store API keys in env vars
• Verify your sending domain
• Set up a custom from address

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

• lowest cost
• easiest setup
• best deliverability
• best for marketing emails vs transactional emails