Best email for AI agents in 2026
How to choose an email inbox for an AI agent, with prices, limits and trade-offs for Mailly, AgentMail and Botmail as of October 15, 2026.
As of October 15, 2026
This guide is published by Mailly, one of the providers below. Prices and features come from each provider's public pages on October 15, 2026, and may have changed since: Mailly pricing, AgentMail pricing, Botmail pricing.
An AI agent that handles email needs more than a send API. It needs its own address, a way to read and reply in threads, an interface your agent already speaks, and a clear rule for who approves what goes out.
What to look for
- Its own address. Giving an agent your personal mailbox lets it act as you and read everything you receive. A dedicated inbox keeps the agent's mail separate and easy to revoke.
- Two-way mail. Receiving, threading and replying, not just sending notifications.
- Agent-friendly access. A remote MCP server for AI clients, a CLI for terminal agents, and an HTTP API and webhooks for your own code.
- Safe sign-up. An agent can start the setup, but a person should approve it, and the agent shouldn't end up holding credentials it doesn't need.
- Human control over sending. Drafts you review, permission scopes, or approval links, so a prompt injection in an incoming email can't make the agent send mail on its own.
- Your own domain. Needed when the agent writes to customers in your name.
- Pricing that fits how you'll use it. Watch for footers on free plans and for what counts toward limits: inboxes, emails per month, sends per day or storage.
At a glance
| Mailly | AgentMail | Botmail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 3 inboxes, 3,000 emails/month, 100 send recipients/24 h, no footer | 3 inboxes, 3,000 emails/month, 100 emails/day, 3 GB, "Sent via AgentMail" footer | 1 mailbox, 100 MB, 1,000 sends/day, 25 new recipients/day, "Sent via Botmail" footer |
| Cheapest paid plan | $20/month ($200/year): 10 inboxes, 10 domains, 30,000 emails/month | $20/month: 10 inboxes, 10 domains, 10,000 emails/month | $5/month: 3 mailboxes, 1 GB |
| Larger plans | Enterprise by contract | $200/month: 150 inboxes, 150 domains, SOC 2; Enterprise | $20/month: 15 mailboxes, 1 domain; $50/month: 50 mailboxes |
| Custom domains | From $20 (10) | From $20 (10) | From $20 (1) |
| Agent sign-up | Agent reserves a name; you verify by email and confirm | Sign-up API with a one-time code to a person's email | Agent claims a name with proof of work; you approve with GitHub or Google |
| Interfaces | API, Remote MCP (OAuth scopes), CLI, SMTP sending | API, MCP, IMAP, SMTP, websockets | API, MCP, CLI |
| Human review of sends | Drafts approved in your AI client or workspace | Drafts, no review link | Drafts with a no-login review link |
| Web inbox for people | Full workspace | Gmail-like webmail | Account and billing page only |
| Also included | Templates, contacts, campaigns, workflows, hosted agents with summaries | AgentID, Agent Drive | Nothing else listed on its pricing page |
Mailly
Best for teams who want people to approve what agents send, and who also send product or marketing email. Mailly gives agents two-way inboxes on @mailly.site or your domain, a Remote MCP server with read, draft, send and manage scopes, a CLI and an HTTP API. Hosted agents summarize each incoming email and draft replies for review. Templates, contacts, audiences, campaigns and event-driven workflows run on the same inboxes.
Trade-offs: no IMAP, no shareable draft review link, and the paid plan starts at $20.
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AgentMail
Best for developers building agent products at scale. AgentMail is an email inbox API for agents from a Y Combinator company with a $6M seed round. It offers IMAP and SMTP, webhooks and websockets, an MCP server with about 45 tools, AgentID for creating accounts at 40+ third-party apps, Agent Drive, and a $200 Startup plan with 150 inboxes and SOC 2.
Trade-offs: a "Sent via AgentMail" footer on Free, drafts without a human review link, and extra email sold as a $2 add-on per 1,000.
Botmail
Best for a single agent that needs a cheap mailbox quickly. Botmail launched in October 2026 and is operated by Exon Enterprise LLC. The agent claims name@botmail.pro, you approve with one click, and drafts come with a review link that works without logging in. Plans start at $5 a month for 3 mailboxes.
Trade-offs: 1 mailbox on Free with a "Sent via Botmail" footer, no IMAP or SMTP, no custom domain below the $20 Team plan, and no web inbox for people.
Other approaches
- Your own Gmail or Outlook through an MCP server or API. No new address to set up, but the agent acts as you and can read all of your mail.
- A send-only transactional email API. Good for notifications. You build receiving, threading and human review yourself.
How to choose
- Want people to approve outgoing mail, plus campaigns and workflows? Start with Mailly.
- Need IMAP, websockets, SOC 2 or hundreds of inboxes? Look at AgentMail.
- Want the cheapest single agent mailbox with link-based approval? Look at Botmail.