Flamingo vs SMTP Mailer (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, SMTP Mailer has a higher user rating (4.5/5 from 65 reviews) while Flamingo leads in active installations (800K+ vs 70K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Flamingo has accumulated 8.2M+ total downloads while SMTP Mailer has 1.4M+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Flamingo | SMTP Mailer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.2/5 | ► | 4.5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 118 | ◄ | 65 |
| Active Installs | 800K+ | ◄ | 70K+ |
| Total Downloads | 8.2M+ | ◄ | 1.4M+ |
| Support Resolution | 33% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 4 months ago | ► | 1 month ago |
| First Released | 2012 | 2015 | |
| Age | 14 years | 11 years | |
| WP Requires | 6.7+ | 6.9+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.4+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 2.6.1 | 1.1.25 |
Rating Breakdown
Flamingo
SMTP Mailer
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Flamingo averaged approximately 1,834 daily downloads while SMTP Mailer averaged 449.
Recent Reviews
Flamingo Reviews
Works Really Well
Its a great addition to contact form 7 and much needed if you don’t have your email server setup yet.
Only works with PHP sendmail, not external SMTP
This plugin only works with contact forms using PHP mail. It doesn’t seem to work with an external SMTP mail server. I tested it out and there were no messages collected in DB. Also there’s no option
Great! (But has a minor bug)
This is a great tool, especially with its integration into the Contact Form 7 plugin. However, there’s a minor bug when exporting non-Latin characters, such as Persian. It seems the encoding is set to
SMTP Mailer Reviews
A basic and effective plugin. The best.
For my WordPress site, I didn’t want complex plugins with lots of options or that consumed a lot of resources. I was looking for something simple. At first, it didn’t work well because it wasn’t 10
Simple Setup, Works Great with CF7
I’ve tried some of the better-known ‘big name’ SMTP plugins, but none of them did exactly what I needed with CF7 sending both Mail and Mail (2) seamlessly. This one just works with no complications or
Simple needs, simple to use
I needed something quick and easy when a contact page on an old site started breaking for some reason and I decided to redo it with new plugins for the form and mailer. This plugin got me going and fi
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Flamingo or SMTP Mailer more popular?
Which has better ratings — Flamingo or SMTP Mailer?
Are Flamingo and SMTP Mailer free?
Which plugin has better support — Flamingo or SMTP Mailer?
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.