Been using Mailforge for 3 months and I have thoughts
techsdr · 2026-02-27 · 2,340 views
I went with Mailforge because I liked the idea of having my own custom SMTP infrastructure. Seemed like the power user move — build your own thing, control everything.
After 3 months, my honest assessment: it is overkill for most cold emailers. The setup is complex. You need to understand mail server configuration, IP warming, DNS at a deep level. Deliverability is decent but not as good as what I was getting from Google Workspace inboxes.
The fundamental issue: email providers like Gmail and Outlook trust Google Workspace and Outlook 365 sending infrastructure more than custom SMTP servers. No matter how well you configure your own SMTP, you are starting from a disadvantage compared to sending through Google or Microsoft.
I am considering switching back to PuzzleInbox Google Workspace for most of my cold email volume and keeping Mailforge for specific high-volume use cases where I need full control.
Comments (3)
multisendermike · 2026-02-27
had the exact same experience. spent weeks configuring my own SMTP servers, doing IP warmup, managing reputation... then switched to managed Google Workspace inboxes and got better results in 3 days with zero config. felt like wasted effort honestly
inboxwhisper · 2026-02-28
The core problem with custom SMTP will always be trust. Gmail and Outlook inherently trust their own infrastructure more than random SMTP servers, no matter how well you configure them. It's not a level playing field.
brianz · 2026-03-01
mailforge might make sense for super high volume use cases where you need full control and don't mind lower deliverability. but for standard cold email campaigns? Google Workspace every time