Imitate Email: Safe and easy email testing for developers and users
No more accidentally spamming real people. Ensure emails are sent at the right time, look great and do this inside the software you're building
Categories:
Imitate Email is a freemium sandbox email testing platform for developers to safely build, test, and preview email functionality without risking real inboxes.
🚀 Overview
Imitate Email addresses the pain of email testing in development: avoiding spam to real users, previewing across clients and devices, and enabling seamless collaboration with teams or clients. Instead of local fake SMTP servers or file dumps, it provides a hosted sandbox with easy integration.
It's designed for developers, indie makers, and software teams integrating emails into apps—think notifications, auth flows, or marketing. Founders Mark Jerzykowski and James Holwell (Oxford alumni, ex-consultants) built it to effortlessly show test emails to clients during user acceptance testing via an embedded viewer, making it feel native to the app.
Launched in summer 2022, it's grown to 300+ users, joined Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, and contributes 1% revenue to carbon removal.
✨ Key Features
- Sandbox SMTP Server (what it does: authenticated sending with STARTTLS; why: secure capture without real delivery, user filtering)
- Email Viewer (multi-format preview—HTML/text/raw; simulate clients/devices; responsive mobile scaling)
- Web Widget (1-line async JS embed <1.5KB; SSO; unbranded on paid plans)
- Programmatic Testing (POP3/IMAP/WebSocket; inbound mailboxes; API adapters like Mandrill; spam scoring)
- Optional: Team tools (permissions, multiple projects/mailboxes), forwarding, WordPress/Chrome/Firefox plugins
🛠 Tech Stack
- Frontend: JavaScript (Web Widget), Custom Web App
- Backend: SMTP (STARTTLS), POP3/IMAP, WebSocket
- Database: Not specified
- Auth: Multi-provider (Email/Password, Google, GitHub, Microsoft, Twitter/X)
- Hosting: Cloud-based (Microsoft for Startups)
👥 Who Is This For?
This project is useful for:
- Developers who want to test email flows inline in their apps
- Teams looking for collaborative testing with permissions and SSO
- Indie makers building SaaS with email features
📸 Screenshots / Demo
- Live demo: https://imitate.email/demo
- Website: https://imitate.email
- Chrome Extension: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/imitate-email/mmlbomgdjokkmlmdaijhdefichmfkeae
- Firefox Extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/imitate-email-plus/
🔥 Project Status
- 🟢 Actively building
Last updated: 2026-03-24
❓ FAQ
Is this project free?
Freemium (Free plan: 15 emails/day forever; limits on widget branding, scale. Paid: $7+/mo for unbranded, teams, more emails/mailboxes/users).
Is the source code available?
No — explain why: Proprietary SaaS by Imitation Software Ltd.
Can I contribute?
Share feedback, issues, or feature requests via hello@imitate.email or /contact. No PRs as closed-source; affiliate program available.
📬 Contact & Links
- Website: https://imitate.email
- GitHub: N/A
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/markjerz (founder)
- Email: hello@imitate.email
Built with ❤️ and kept warm on WarmIndex.
Similar apps
Home - mosparo
mosparo.io
mosparo is the modern spam protection system for forms. mosparo will catch the spam messages before they get sent to the inbox. Start using mosparo today.
Selenium
selenium.dev
Selenium automates browsers. That's it!
Mainsail - The 3D Printer Interface for Klipper
docs.mainsail.xyz
Find guides, setup instructions, and resources to customize and optimize your Mainsail 3D printer interface.
HeroTofu - Form Backend for Static Sites | No Server Code Needed
herotofu.com
Create form endpoints in seconds. Collect submissions, get email notifications, route leads, and prevent spam. Free plan available. No backend code required.