Brevo SMTP Settings and Configuration (2026)
Native SMTP included on every plan — even Free
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue, rebranded in 2023) is a French-headquartered hybrid platform: transactional SMTP, marketing email, SMS, WhatsApp, and CRM in a single product. Uncommon breadth compared to focused competitors like Postmark or Mailgun. Both transactional SMTP and REST API are exposed on every plan tier including the persistent Free plan — a differentiator against providers that gate SMTP behind paid tiers.
Brevo uses a dual pricing model unusual among transactional providers: contact count is unlimited and pricing scales with email volume only. The Free plan gives 300 emails/day permanently — enough for most low-volume WordPress sites, small SaaS apps, and side projects. EU data hosting by default (all infrastructure in Europe) makes Brevo a natural fit for GDPR-sensitive senders, alongside Mailjet as the two major EU-based options in this catalog.
Quick reference
The essential Brevo SMTP settings. Same host globally — no region variants.
| SMTP server | smtp-relay.brevo.com CURRENT |
|---|---|
| Legacy hostname | smtp-relay.sendinblue.com (still works as alias) |
| SMTP port (STARTTLS) | 587 RECOMMENDED |
| SMTP port (SSL/TLS) | 465 |
| Alternative port | 2525 (STARTTLS fallback if 587/465 blocked) |
| Username | Your Brevo account email OR a dedicated SMTP user |
| Password | Your SMTP key (distinct from API key) |
| Sender verification | Verified sender OR verified domain (SPF + DKIM) |
SMTP configuration
Outgoing mail server
— sending transactional email
Setup steps
- Sign up at brevo.com. The Free plan (300 emails/day permanent, unlimited contacts) is enough for most WordPress sites and pre-production apps.
- Navigate to SMTP & API › SMTP. Click Generate a new SMTP key. The key is displayed at generation — copy it immediately to your secret manager.
- Verify your sending domain: Senders & IP › Domains › Add a domain. Brevo generates DKIM (typically at
mail._domainkey.your-domain.com) and a Brevo-managed record. Add both to your DNS. Verification takes 15 minutes to 4 hours. - In your email client or WP SMTP plugin, enter host
smtp-relay.brevo.com, port 587, encryptionSTARTTLS, username = your Brevo account email (or dedicated SMTP user), password = the SMTP key you generated. - Send a test email using a
From:address on your verified domain. Check Transactional › Statistics in your Brevo dashboard for delivery, bounce, or spam classification. - Optional but recommended: create a dedicated SMTP user in Users › Add user with SMTP-only permissions. Using a dedicated user (rather than your account email) means a leaked SMTP credential does not grant dashboard or campaign access.
Authentication and SMTP key management
Brevo separates SMTP keys (SMTP relay authentication) from API keys (REST API access). This differs from Mailjet where a single API Key + Secret Key pair works for both interfaces. Segregation reduces blast radius: a leaked SMTP key cannot be used against the REST API and vice versa.
SMTP username options
You can authenticate with your Brevo account email as SMTP username, or create a dedicated SMTP user with limited scope. For production, the dedicated user is strongly recommended: it can be revoked without disrupting your account login, and it does not grant dashboard access if leaked. Create it from Users › Add user with SMTP-only permissions.
SMTP key rotation
Brevo recommends rotating SMTP keys every 90 days. You can maintain multiple active SMTP keys simultaneously — useful for zero-downtime rotation: generate a new key, deploy it to your app, then delete the old key once traffic has fully migrated.
SPF, DKIM, and Brevo authentication records
Domain verification unlocks DKIM signing. Wizard location: Senders & IP › Domains › Authenticate this domain.
DKIM record (TXT)
Brevo publishes a 2048-bit DKIM public key at mail._domainkey.your-domain.com:
Type: TXT · Host: mail._domainkey · Value: k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBA...QIDAQAB
SPF record
v=spf1 include:spf.brevo.com ~all
If you already have an SPF record, merge include:spf.brevo.com before the last operator. Never publish two separate v=spf1 records.
Brevo verification record
Brevo also asks for a proprietary TXT record (typically brevo-code:xxxxxxxxxxxx) to prove domain ownership. This is separate from DKIM and SPF — add all three records before requesting verification.
DMARC alignment
With DKIM signed by your domain and Brevo’s Return-Path handling, relaxed DMARC alignment works out of the box. Publish at least v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:reports@your-domain.com; sustained non-alignment triggers hard failures at Gmail and Yahoo for senders above 5,000/day. For strict DMARC alignment, contact Brevo support for advanced Return-Path setup.
Rate limits & sending caps
| Limit type | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan daily cap | 300/day | Permanent (not a trial). Persistent as long as account is active. No monthly cap — only daily. |
| Free plan contact list | Unlimited | Distinctive: Brevo does not cap contact list size on Free. Volume caps sending, not audience size. |
| Starter plan | From $25/mo · 20k emails | No daily cap. Removes Brevo branding from email footer. Higher tiers scale volume. |
| Business plan | From $65/mo | A/B testing, advanced automation, multi-user access, telephone support. |
| Dedicated IP | Business plan and above | Progressive warmup 2-6 weeks recommended. Useful from 50k+ transactional/month. |
| Message size (total) | 10 MB | Includes base64-encoded attachments (~33% larger than the file on disk). |
Brevo’s pricing model is unusual in decoupling contact list size from cost. If you have 50,000 contacts but send only 5,000 emails/month, you pay for 5,000 emails — not for the audience size. This is different from Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign which price primarily on contact count.
Common setup gotchas
SMTP key is not the same as API key
Brevo issues SMTP keys and API v3 keys as separate credentials. Using an API key as SMTP password fails with 535 Authentication failed. Generate SMTP keys from SMTP & API › SMTP, not from the API keys section.
Legacy Sendinblue hostname still works — but update it anyway
Brevo rebranded from Sendinblue in 2023. The legacy hostname smtp-relay.sendinblue.com still resolves and forwards, but Brevo recommends migrating to smtp-relay.brevo.com. No functional difference today, but the legacy alias may be deprecated eventually. Update configuration during your next rotation.
Free plan daily reset is UTC midnight — not local time
The 300-emails-per-day Free cap resets at 00:00 UTC, not your local timezone. If you are in a US or Asia-Pacific timezone, the reset happens mid-day locally — unexpected if you assume midnight-local behavior. Automation triggered near the reset window may see mixed rate-limit behavior for a few minutes.
Using account email as SMTP username in production
The default authentication uses your Brevo account email as SMTP username. This works but couples SMTP credentials to your login: a leaked SMTP key exposes your account email and rotating it may complicate dashboard access. In production, always create a dedicated SMTP user from Users › Add user with SMTP-only permissions.
Verification of new domains can require support intervention
Brevo runs additional review on new sender domains, especially for accounts sending from freshly registered domains or from IP ranges flagged in Brevo’s reputation database. If your domain shows as “Pending” beyond 4 hours despite correct DNS records, submit a support ticket — verification typically completes within 24 hours after review. Do not delay production launches by assuming automated verification alone.
Port 25 is blocked on cloud hosts
AWS EC2, DigitalOcean, Heroku, and Google Cloud all block outbound port 25 by default. Never use port 25 for SMTP submission. Use 587 (STARTTLS, recommended), 465 (SSL/TLS), or 2525 as fallback.
Migrating SMTP setups
To Brevo (from another provider)
Update your app’s SMTP config to smtp-relay.brevo.com:587 with STARTTLS. Use your Brevo account email (or a dedicated SMTP user) as username, and the SMTP key from SMTP & API › SMTP as password. Verify your sending domain via Senders & IP › Domains and add the three required DNS records (DKIM, SPF, brevo-code verification). Plan for 15 minutes to 4 hours for DNS propagation. Keep your old provider active during parallel run.
From Brevo (to a different provider)
Common triggers: need for stricter transactional-only deliverability, cost optimization at high volume, or you no longer need the marketing/CRM/SMS platform bundle. Postmark for premium transactional-only with best-in-class deliverability. SendGrid for broader ecosystem with Marketing Campaigns at similar pricing tiers. Mailgun for API-first developer teams with EU region available. Mailjet if you want to stay in the EU-based hybrid category with a similar unified transactional + marketing product.
Frequently asked questions
What is Brevo’s SMTP server address?
Brevo uses smtp-relay.brevo.com as the current global SMTP host. The legacy Sendinblue hostname smtp-relay.sendinblue.com still resolves as an alias but Brevo recommends migrating to the current name. There are no regional variants — single global endpoint. Recommended port is 587 with STARTTLS. Alternatives: 465 (SSL/TLS) and 2525 (STARTTLS fallback for restrictive networks).
What credentials do I use to authenticate to Brevo SMTP?
Username: your Brevo account email OR a dedicated SMTP user you create in Users › Add user. Password: your SMTP key generated from SMTP & API › SMTP. Do NOT use your Brevo account login password — that will fail authentication. Do NOT use an API v3 key — SMTP keys and API keys are separate credential types. For production, always prefer a dedicated SMTP user over the account email — it isolates credentials from your login and can be revoked independently.
How much does Brevo cost?
Free plan: 300 emails/day permanent, unlimited contacts — distinctive contact-based pricing model. Starter plan: from $25/month for 20,000 emails, no daily limit, removes Brevo footer branding. Business plan: from $65/month, adds A/B testing, advanced automation, multi-user access, telephone support, dedicated IP option. Enterprise: custom pricing for volumes above 1 million emails/month. Contact list size is unlimited on all plans — you pay for sending volume only.
What is the difference between Brevo and Sendinblue?
Same product, new name. Brevo rebranded from Sendinblue in 2023 as part of an expansion beyond email into CRM, WhatsApp, and SMS. All existing Sendinblue accounts migrated automatically. The legacy SMTP hostname smtp-relay.sendinblue.com still works as an alias, and existing DNS records referencing Sendinblue continue to function. New setups should use smtp-relay.brevo.com and Brevo-branded records.
Does Brevo support IMAP or POP3?
No. Brevo is a send-only transactional email platform. IMAP and POP3 are protocols for retrieving mail from a mailbox, and Brevo does not host mailboxes. Brevo does support inbound webhook processing as a distinct feature (receive emails at a Brevo inbound address, POST parsed content to your webhook), useful for building email-triggered workflows — but this is not a mailbox you read with a mail client.
Why should I use Brevo over Mailjet, Mailgun, SendGrid, or Postmark?
Pick Brevo if any of these matter: (1) you need transactional email plus marketing plus SMS plus WhatsApp plus CRM in one platform without integration overhead; (2) EU data hosting is required for GDPR compliance; (3) contact-based pricing decoupling from volume fits your business (large audience, low frequency sends); (4) you value a persistent 300/day Free tier over 30-day trials. Do NOT pick Brevo if you need pure transactional-only best-in-class deliverability — Postmark wins that use case. Also skip Brevo for aggressive high-volume cost optimization — Amazon SES or Mailgun scale cheaper above 100k/month.
This review follows our email infrastructure testing methodology. We disclose affiliate relationships in our editorial independence policy.
