PluginSift

Flamingo vs Mail SMTP (2026)

Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.

Flamingo

Flamingo

4.2(118)

800K+ active installs

Free

Updated 4 months ago
View Flamingo
VS
Mail SMTP

Mail SMTP

0(0)

20 active installs

Free

Updated 1 year ago
View Mail SMTP

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, Flamingo has a higher user rating (4.2/5 from 118 reviews) and leads in active installations (800K+ vs 20). Both are free WordPress plugins. Flamingo has accumulated 8.2M+ total downloads while Mail SMTP has 1.5K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.2/5Flamingo
◄
Mail SMTPN/A
Total Reviews
118Flamingo
◄
Mail SMTP0
Active Installs
800K+Flamingo
◄
Mail SMTP20
Total Downloads
8.2M+Flamingo
◄
Mail SMTP1.5K+
Support Resolution
33%Flamingo
Mail SMTPN/A
Last Updated
4 months agoFlamingo
◄
Mail SMTP1 year ago
First Released
2012Flamingo
Mail SMTP2022
Age
14 yearsFlamingo
Mail SMTP4 years
WP Requires
6.7+Flamingo
Mail SMTP3.0+
PHP Requires
7.4+Flamingo
Mail SMTP5.6.20+
Business Model
FreeFlamingo
Mail SMTPFree
Latest Version
2.6.1Flamingo
Mail SMTP1.0

Rating Breakdown

Flamingo

4.2/5(118 reviews)
5
62%
4
17%
3
8%
2
8%
1
6%

Mail SMTP

0/5(0 reviews)
5
0%
4
0%
3
0%
2
0%
1
0%

Recent Reviews

Flamingo Reviews

by nolanrichardson

Works Really Well

Its a great addition to contact form 7 and much needed if you don’t have your email server setup yet.

by skylabb

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

by allamehw

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

Mail SMTP Reviews

No reviews yet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Flamingo or Mail SMTP more popular?
Flamingo has 800K+ active installations while Mail SMTP has 20. Flamingo is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Flamingo or Mail SMTP?
Flamingo has a 4.2/5 rating from 118 reviews, while Mail SMTP has a 0/5 rating from 0 reviews.
Are Flamingo and Mail SMTP free?
Flamingo is free and Mail SMTP is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Flamingo or Mail SMTP?
Support resolution data is not available for all plugins. Check each plugin's WordPress.org support forum for current response quality.
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
Flamingo was last updated 4 months ago and Mail SMTP was last updated 1 year ago.

Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.