What are the limitations to sending emails via gmail and what alternatives are there for time sensitive emails?

Summary

Gmail presents several limitations for both sending and receiving emails, particularly concerning high volumes and time-sensitive communications. These limitations encompass hourly and daily sending limits, potential deliverability issues, the risk of account restrictions, and possible delays in email delivery. These restrictions stem from Google's need to maintain system efficiency and prevent spam. To overcome these challenges, experts and documentation suggest alternatives like dedicated SMTP services (e.g., Amazon SES, Sendgrid, Mailgun), transactional email services, self-hosted servers, and professional email marketing platforms. These alternatives offer better control, scalability, and reliability, although some require more technical expertise. Furthermore, using a professional email service with its own domain can significantly improve deliverability and brand reputation.

Key findings

  • Gmail Limitations: Gmail has limitations on hourly/daily sending, can defer emails, and isn't designed for mass marketing.
  • Deliverability Issues: Gmail's limitations can lead to deliverability issues and a higher risk of being marked as spam.
  • Sending Alternatives: Dedicated SMTP services, transactional services, self-hosting, and marketing platforms offer alternatives for overcoming Gmail limitations.
  • Time Sensitivity: Standard email protocols don't guarantee timely delivery; delays can occur for extended periods.
  • Domain Reputation: Using a professional email service with a custom domain boosts deliverability and brand reputation.
  • Account Risks: Exceeding sending limits on Gmail can result in temporary account restrictions.
  • Receiving Limits: Google imposes limits on the number of emails you can receive to keep Gmail efficient and accounts safe

Key considerations

  • Volume Requirements: Determine your daily and hourly email volume needs to select the appropriate service.
  • Time Sensitivity: If timely delivery is critical, choose transactional email or a robust SMTP service.
  • Technical Expertise: Self-hosting requires technical skills to configure and manage MTA settings.
  • Budget Constraints: Consider the costs associated with dedicated email services versus the free Gmail option.
  • Deliverability Requirements: Ensure that your chosen alternative offers features to improve deliverability.
  • Feature Needs: Identify features such as segmentation, automation, and analytics needed for effective email marketing.
  • Domain Reputation: Plan to set up domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to improve your sending reputation.
  • Infrastructure: Ensure chosen service has robust infrastructure, redundancy and high availability

What email marketers say
10Marketer opinions

Gmail has several limitations that make it unsuitable for sending high volumes of emails or time-sensitive communications. These limitations include hourly and daily sending limits, potential deliverability issues, and account restrictions. Alternatives include dedicated SMTP services, transactional email services like SendGrid or Mailgun, self-hosted servers with tuned MTA settings, and professional email marketing platforms with segmentation and automation features. Using a professional email service with its own domain can also improve email deliverability and brand reputation.

Key opinions

  • Gmail Limits: Gmail imposes hourly and daily sending limits to prevent spam and maintain server performance.
  • Delivery Issues: Gmail is not designed for mass email marketing, leading to potential deliverability issues.
  • Account Restrictions: Exceeding Gmail's sending limits can result in temporary account restrictions.
  • SMTP Services: Dedicated SMTP services provide better control over email delivery and avoid Gmail's limitations.
  • Transactional Email: Transactional email services like SendGrid or Mailgun are better for time-sensitive emails due to their reliability and speed.
  • Professional Email: Using a professional email service with its own domain improves email deliverability and brand reputation.

Key considerations

  • Volume Needs: Assess your email sending volume to determine if Gmail's limitations will impact your needs.
  • Timing Sensitivity: Evaluate the importance of timely email delivery for your specific use case.
  • Technical Expertise: Consider the technical expertise required to set up and manage a self-hosted email server.
  • Features Required: Determine if you need features like segmentation, automation, and analytics, which are offered by email marketing platforms.
  • Deliverability: Ensure your chosen alternative provides robust deliverability features to avoid emails landing in spam folders.
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests looking at methods other than SMTP to deliver the data.

October 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from SuperOffice explains that when you're wanting to mass email, a dedicated email marketing platform is required to handle large email campaigns efficiently and effectively, with features like segmentation, automation, and analytics.

March 2021 - SuperOffice
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit user u/SMTPGuru suggests that using an SMTP service provides better control over email delivery and avoids the limitations of Gmail, especially for bulk or time-critical emails.

March 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailtrap Blog shares that Gmail imposes limits on the number of emails you can send per day to prevent spam and maintain server performance. They suggest using a dedicated email sending service for higher volumes.

September 2022 - Mailtrap Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora user EmailEnthusiast suggests that using a professional email service with its own domain improves email deliverability and brand reputation compared to using a free Gmail account.

September 2024 - Quora
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailPro responds that for time-sensitive emails, transactional email services like SendGrid or Mailgun are better options than Gmail due to their reliability and speed.

September 2024 - Reddit
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that Gmail has a receiving limit of 3,600 emails per hour and that Google defers emails until the limit resets. A self-hosted server might be a solution, but MTA settings need tuning.

November 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Google Support explains that Gmail has daily sending limits, which vary based on account type. Exceeding these limits can result in temporary account restrictions.

February 2022 - Google Support
Marketer view

Email marketer from Gmass explains that while Gmail is convenient for personal emails, it is not designed for mass email marketing due to sending limits and potential deliverability issues. For marketing campaigns, it recommends using a dedicated email marketing platform.

June 2024 - Gmass
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackOverflow user EmailDev explains that for mission critical and time sensitive email you can't guarantee delivery with personal email addresses, and using a dedicated SMTP server or transactional email service helps ensure timely delivery of emails, which Gmail cannot provide at high volumes.

June 2024 - StackOverflow

What the experts say
5Expert opinions

Experts agree that Gmail has limitations that make it unsuitable for time-sensitive or high-volume email sending. These limitations include potential delays in email delivery, restrictions on sending volume, and the risk of being flagged as spam. Alternatives suggested include using a dedicated email sending service, transactional email services, or self-hosting your own server for better control and reliability, especially for time-critical communications.

Key opinions

  • Gmail Inadequacy: Gmail is not designed for fast or reliable email sending, making it a poor choice for time-sensitive communications.
  • Volume Limitations: Gmail is unsuitable for high-volume sending due to restrictions and the risk of being flagged as spam.
  • Delivery Delays: Email delivery through standard email infrastructure (like Gmail) can experience significant delays, even up to years in extreme cases.
  • Self-Hosting: Self-hosting a server provides more control and is an option for time-sensitive applications.
  • Transactional Email: Transactional email services are a better alternative for time-sensitive emails due to their speed and reliability.

Key considerations

  • Time Sensitivity: Evaluate the importance of timely email delivery for your specific use case.
  • Volume Needs: Assess your email sending volume to determine if Gmail's limitations will impact your needs.
  • Control Level: Determine the level of control you need over the email sending process.
  • Technical Expertise: Consider the technical expertise required to set up and manage a self-hosted email server.
  • Dedicated Service: Explore using dedicated email sending services for improved reliability and delivery.
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource, John Levine, explains that Gmail isn't really suitable for anything other than small volume sending due to its limitations on sending volume and the risk of being flagged as spam if you try to send too many emails at once. Recommends using a proper email sending service for anything beyond personal correspondence.

December 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests not hosting time-sensitive applications on someone else's server and recommends spinning up your own server.

April 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, responds that Gmail isn't designed for fast or reliable email sending, and it's a poor choice for time-sensitive emails. For anything time sensitive using transaction email is better or self hosting.

April 2022 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks clarifies that the RFC for email specifies retries for 5 days but does not limit how long email can take in flight. Shares experience of a message delayed over a year.

March 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares that there have been cases where email delivery has taken several decades end-to-end.

March 2022 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help states Google limits incoming messages to maintain efficiency and safety, particularly for automated emails. In contrast, Amazon SES, Sendgrid, and Mailgun offer scalable, robust infrastructures designed for high-volume sending of transactional and marketing emails, providing better deliverability and SMTP interfaces. While Sendgrid ensures fast delivery, they note external factors like internet speeds can affect the time taken for delivery. These services are alternatives to Gmail when sending limits are reached or high deliverability is required.

Key findings

  • Gmail Receiving Limits: Google limits the number of messages you can receive to keep Gmail efficient and accounts safe.
  • Amazon SES Scalability: Amazon SES is a scalable and cost-effective email service with an SMTP interface, suitable for large volumes.
  • Sendgrid Infrastructure: Sendgrid has infrastructure for fast email delivery and suggests using their SMTP server for mass sending.
  • Mailgun Infrastructure: Mailgun is designed for high volumes of transactional and marketing emails, ensuring better deliverability than Gmail.

Key considerations

  • Scalability Needs: Consider your need for scalability when choosing an email sending service.
  • Deliverability Requirements: Evaluate the importance of high deliverability for your email campaigns.
  • Infrastructure Support: Consider the infrastructure support provided by each email service.
  • Gmail Incoming Limits: Consider limitations on receiving emails into gmail accounts.
Technical article

Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help states that Google limits the number of messages you can receive to keep Gmail efficient and accounts safe. The documentation refers to automated messages in their limit.

March 2025 - Google Workspace Admin Help
Technical article

Documentation from Amazon SES states that it is a scalable and cost-effective email service that provides an SMTP interface, making it suitable for sending large volumes of emails reliably. This is useful when gmail sending limits are hit.

November 2024 - Amazon SES Documentation
Technical article

Documentation from Mailgun states that their robust infrastructure and deliverability tools are specifically designed for sending high volumes of transactional and marketing emails, ensuring better deliverability than standard Gmail accounts.

January 2024 - Mailgun
Technical article

Documentation from Sendgrid states that they have infrastructure to ensure email is delivered quickly, but time taken varies depending on many factors outside of their control such as internet speeds. They suggest to use thier SMTP server for mass sending of email.

July 2024 - Sendgrid