Maskmail vs Forward Email
Forward Email is an open-source email forwarding and hosting service. Maskmail is a focused email aliasing tool. Both handle email forwarding, but they aim at different use cases.
What is Forward Email?
Forward Email is a 100% open-source, privacy-focused email service that offers both forwarding and full email hosting (IMAP/POP3/SMTP on paid plans). It uses zero-knowledge encryption at rest, supports unlimited custom domains and aliases, and is popular among developers and small businesses who want affordable, private email infrastructure.
What is Maskmail?
Maskmail is an email mask firewall. You create one mask per service, forward messages to any inbox, and disable any mask the moment spam starts. It supports custom domains, delivery history, threaded two-way replies that show who sent the email at a glance, and usage-based pricing.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Maskmail | Forward Email |
|---|---|---|
| Email aliasing | Core product | Yes (forwarding layer) |
| Full email hosting | No | Yes (paid plans) |
| Custom domains | Yes | Yes (unlimited, even on free) |
| Works with any inbox | Yes | Yes (forwarding mode) |
| Threaded two-way replies | Threaded | Yes |
| Delivery history | Yes | No |
| IMAP/SMTP | No | Yes (paid) |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes |
| Zero-knowledge encryption | No | Yes (at rest) |
| API | No | Yes (paid) |
Pricing
Maskmail charges $0.99/month base plus $0.006 per email.
Forward Email free offers unlimited forwarding aliases on unlimited domains (no sending or storage). Enhanced Protection is $3/month with 10 GB storage, SMTP sending, and API access. Team is $9/month with unlimited team members.
Where Forward Email is stronger
- Open source. Full codebase is auditable. If the service shuts down, you can self-host.
- Full email hosting. Paid plans give you IMAP/SMTP, so it can replace your email provider entirely, not just act as a forwarding layer.
- Zero-knowledge encryption. Stored email is encrypted with AES-256, and Forward Email cannot read it.
- Very generous free tier. Unlimited forwarding on unlimited domains at no cost.
- Developer-friendly. REST API, webhooks, and "Send Mail As" integration with Gmail.
- Excellent value for hosting. $3/month for full email hosting with custom domains undercuts most competitors.
Where Maskmail is stronger
- Focused UX. Maskmail does one thing well: masked email forwarding with per-mask control. Forward Email's broader scope means more setup complexity.
- Threaded replies with sender context. Forwarded emails show the original sender's name in your inbox. Hit reply, and the conversation threads naturally for both sides while your real address stays hidden.
- Delivery history. See every forwarded message, when it arrived, and whether it was delivered.
- No DNS setup for basic use. Forward Email requires MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC record configuration for custom domains. Maskmail handles domain verification through a simpler flow.
- Per-mask disable. Instantly disable a single noisy mask without touching any DNS or forwarding rules.
- Simpler onboarding. Sign up, create a mask, start forwarding. No MX records to configure unless you want a custom domain.
Something to consider
Forward Email's biggest barrier for most people is the upfront DNS configuration. Before you can forward a single email, you need to set up MX records, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for your domain. If you misconfigure any of those, emails quietly land in spam or bounce entirely, and diagnosing the issue requires comfort with DNS tooling. That is fine for developers and sysadmins, but it can be a frustrating first experience for anyone else.
If you want to start masking your email in minutes rather than debugging DNS records, Maskmail handles domain verification through a guided flow and gives you shared domains to use immediately while you set up your own.
Who should pick which?
Choose Forward Email if you want open-source email infrastructure, need full SMTP/IMAP hosting, or want to self-host your own email forwarding.
Choose Maskmail if you want a simple, focused aliasing tool with delivery tracking and per-mask control, without the overhead of managing email server configuration.
Bottom line
Forward Email is a powerful, transparent email infrastructure tool. If you are technical and want full control over your email stack, it is hard to beat. Maskmail is for people who want the alias-and-forward workflow without thinking about DNS records or email hosting. Different tools for different jobs.