# SMTPeter — Transactional Email SMTPeter by Copernica BV holds a panel rating of 2.5/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 3/5), as of 2026-11-01. Provenance: EU-Made; sovereignty: not determined. - Vendor: Copernica BV (https://www.smtpeter.com/en) - Category: [Transactional Email](https://whats-best.ai/software/transactional-email.md) - Provenance (editorial classification): EU-Made - Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/transactional-email/smtpeter - Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/transactional-email/smtpeter/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/transactional-email/smtpeter/alternatives.md)) - Data as of: 2026-11-06 · evaluated 2026-11-01 · oldest source captured 2026-11-01 **AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology ## At a glance - Vendor: Copernica BV - Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026 - Data hosting: Default not stated; pages mention Netherlands [S1] - Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026 ## The panel's verdict SMTPeter, Copernica BV's transactional email service, scores highest on sovereignty at 6-7 and pricing transparency at 6-7: the captured pages document servers in the Iron Mountain data centre in Haarlem, backups with True BV in Amsterdam and a policy statement that data entered by you is only stored in the Netherlands, alongside a licence at € 55/month including 25.000 emails, one IP and one domain and per-thousand rates from € 0,23 down to € 0,05. It scores lowest on data and security at 3-4 and reliability and accounts at 3-4, where we found no public information on two-factor authentication, encryption at rest, certifications or an uptime SLA, and retention is decided case-by-case. Scores span 4-5 on deliverability and observability: higher marks credit guided SPF, DKIM and DMARC set-up with a dedicated IP and webhooks; lower ones weigh the absence of published bounce suppression and a fixed log-retention period. The sending API holds at a flat 4, min 4 and max 4 — REST and SMTP are documented, with no public information on SDKs, rate limits or a test mode. **Speaks for it:** - Publishes a complete price ladder — € 55/month including 25.000 emails, one IP and one domain, per-thousand rates from € 0,23 down to € 0,05, a monthly cost calculator and a support contract at 89 euros/month - Documents the hosting chain in named Dutch locations — own and Leaseweb Netherlands BV servers at Iron Mountain in Haarlem and backups with True BV in Amsterdam — with the policy stating data entered by you is only stored in the Netherlands - Includes a dedicated IP in the base licence with guided sender-domain set-up, hosted SPF records, automatic DKIM signing and DMARC deployment with daily reports - Exposes log files, statistics, DMARC reports and archived emails in the dashboard and via the REST API, with webhooks for deliveries, bounces, clicks, failures and opens - Publishes a data protection officer contact at dpo@smtpeter.com and supports GDPR access and deletion requests **Held against it:** - States that a retention period cannot be specified in advance and data deletion is decided case-by-case - Limits GDPR data requests to information Copernica BV holds for its own use, not data stored by customers - We found no public information on two-factor authentication, encryption at rest, scoped API keys, ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification, or a published data processing agreement - We found no public information on an uptime SLA, a public status page with incident history, sub-accounts or team roles - Extra IP addresses and domains are only said to be charged extra with no published rates, and requirements above five domains go through a sales contact **Best for:** - You need transactional mail hosted in the Netherlands — the policy states data entered by you is only stored in the Netherlands, on servers in Haarlem with backups in Amsterdam - You want to budget volume precisely: the pages publish the full per-thousand ladder from € 0,23 down to € 0,05 plus a monthly cost calculator - You send from a single domain and want a dedicated IP with guided SPF, DKIM and DMARC included in the € 55/month licence - You integrate over REST or SMTP and want templates stored centrally as JSON objects, personalised and sent to multiple recipients through the API **Avoid if:** - You need a fixed, contractual data-retention period — the policy states one cannot be specified in advance and deletion is case-by-case - Your GDPR workflows require the vendor to act on requests covering data you store through the platform — the policy states data requests apply only to information Copernica BV holds for its own use - You run more than five sender domains or need add-on costs in advance — the pages direct you to contact the vendor above five domains and only state that extra IPs and domains are charged extra - You need a support channel other than email during office hours — support is published as email during office hours, with a technical support contract at 89 euros/month ## Scores by judge and criterion Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price, or the judge found no public information on that criterion. | Criterion | The SaaS Developer | The Platform Engineer | The Shop Operator | The Data Protection Officer | The Agency Lead | The Skeptic | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sending API, SMTP & developer experience | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | | Deliverability & sender reputation | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | | Message logs, events & webhooks | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | | Message data, retention & security | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | | Reliability, accounts & support | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | | European sovereignty | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | | Pricing transparency | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | | **Weighted verdict** | **2/5** | **2/5** | **2.5/5** | **2.5/5** | **2/5** | **2/5** | ### The judges - **The SaaS Developer** (v1.0): Backend developer at a twelve-person B2B SaaS in Hamburg, built on Laravel, that sends sign-up confirmations, password resets, invoices and weekly digests to 40,000 users. Has replaced the mail driver once already and does not want to again. Wants an official driver for the framework, templates with variables, a test mode that never reaches a real inbox, signed webhooks for bounces, and a log that answers "did this user get the reset mail?" without opening a ticket. - **The Platform Engineer** (v1.0): Platform engineer at a fintech in Frankfurt whose customers sign in with a one-time code sent by email, so a delay of three minutes is an outage. Is on call for it. Reads the status page history before the feature list, wants the SLA in writing with credits, mail queued and retried during an incident, delivery latency per mailbox provider, alerts on bounce spikes, and scoped API keys that can be rotated without a deploy. - **The Shop Operator** (v1.0): Runs a Shopware shop for kitchen equipment in Germany and Austria with 900 orders a week. Order confirmations, invoices and shipping notices went out through the hosting provider's mail server until a customer found theirs in spam and the support inbox filled up. Wants guided SPF and DKIM set-up a non-specialist can follow, a plugin for the shop, order mail kept apart from the newsletter, and someone to ask when Gmail starts refusing. - **The Data Protection Officer** (v1.0): In-house data protection officer at a health software company whose appointment reminders and lab-result notices carry patients' names. Treats the sending service as a processor like any other. Reads the DPA, the subprocessor list and the retention section first: whether message bodies are stored and for how long, whether open tracking can be turned off, which entity signs, and whether the EU region covers the logs as well as the mail. - **The Agency Lead** (v1.0): Technical lead at a web agency in Cologne that builds and runs thirty client applications, from a booking portal to a membership site, each sending its own mail from the client's domain. Wants one account with a sub-account, keys and limits per client, domains verified by API, roles so a client can see their own logs and nothing else, and a price per client that can be written into a maintenance contract. - **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has seen "99% deliverability" with no method behind it, "dedicated IPs" that shared a pool with bulk senders, "EU hosting" that covered the API endpoint but not the logs, and seven days of log retention discovered during an incident on day eight. Reads that a vendor is "trusted by thousands of developers" and asks how bounces are suppressed, what is stored per message, which entity signs the DPA — and what moving away would cost. ## European sovereignty — proven facts Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined. | Dimension | Finding | Points | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Legal entity | Not determined | — | — | | Hosting location | Not determined | — | — | | Hosting options | Not determined | — | — | | Open source | Not determined | — | — | | Data processing agreement | Not determined | — | — | | Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | — | ## Key facts Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources). **Compliance** - GDPR requests: yes · yes [S4] **Data** - Backup retention: Haarlem · Amsterdam · yes · 7 [S7] - Log files: data stored in log files; browsable/downloadable in dashboard and via REST API [S4] - Retention policy: case-by-case · no [S7] - Right to be forgotten: no · yes [S7] **Hosting** - Backup location: Netherlands only · True BV · euNetworks, Amsterdam [S7] - Location: Netherlands · Leaseweb Netherlands BV and own servers · Iron Mountain, Haarlem [S7] - Region: Netherlands · European [S1] **Integrations** - API available: yes · yes [S7] - Google API: Google Ads · Google Analytics · Google Tag Manager · other Google APIs · yes · yes [S7] - Google services: Google Analytics · Google Tag Manager · Google reCAPTCHA · no [S7] - Meta API: Meta Ads · Meta Analytics · Meta Pixel · other Meta APIs · yes · yes [S7] - Openai chat: Marketing Suite AI-Chat · yes [S7] - Openai email editor: yes · yes [S7] - Rest API token: REST API access token generated in SMTPeter dashboard [S4] - Social login: yes · first name, last name and email address · LinkedIn · Facebook · Google [S7] - Webhooks: deliveries · bounces · clicks · failures · opens · yes [S2] **Legal** - Address: info@smtpeter.com · De Ruijterkade 112, 1011 AB, Amsterdam [S2] - Address: Amsterdam · De Ruijterkade 112 · 1011 AB [S5] - Address: De Ruijterkade 112, 1011 AB, Amsterdam [S1] - Address: De Ruijterkade 112, 1011 AB, Amsterdam [S6] - Address: info@smtpeter.com · De Ruijterkade 112, 1011 AB, Amsterdam [S7] - Company: Amsterdam · The Netherlands · Copernica [S3] - Document language: Dutch [S7] - Entity: MTA application · SMTP cloud-service · Copernica BV [S7] - Fair use: yes [S8] - Governing language: Dutch [S8] - Legal entity: Copernica · Amsterdam, The Netherlands [S1] - Made by: Copernica · Amsterdam, The Netherlands [S2] - Made by copernica: Copernica · Amsterdam, The Netherlands [S4] - Made by copernica: Amsterdam, The Netherlands · Copernica [S8] - Maker: Copernica · Amsterdam, The Netherlands [S5] - Modification notice: yes [S8] - Platforms covered: Copernica Marketing Suite · Copernica Publisher · SMTPeter · MailerQ [S8] - Third party data rule: yes [S8] - Vendor: Amsterdam · The Netherlands · Copernica [S6] - Vendor entity: Copernica BV [S8] **Pricing** - Additional rates: volume discounts; additional rates apply above included emails [S4] - Domain limit: 5 [S5] - Enterprise license: info@smtpeter.com · yes [S4] - Inclusions: 1 · 1 · 55 · 25000 [S5] - License: 55 · 1 · 25000 · 1 [S1] - License monthly price: EUR · 55 · 25000 [S5] - Multi domain: yes [S1] - Overage charges: yes · yes [S5] - Standard inclusions: 25000 · 1 · 1 · 55 [S4] - Standard price: 55 · 25000 [S4] - Support contract: 89 [S1] - Tiers: 0.05 · 0.23 · included · 0.22 · 0.17 · 0.06 [S1] - Volume tiers: first 25000 · included in base price · next 25000 · 0.23 · next 950000 · 0.22 · next 5000000 · 0.17 · next 45000000 · 0.06 · all next · 0.05 [S5] **Product** - Account setup checklist: setup checklist shown at dashboard login; sender domain must be set [S4] - Analytics: opens · clicks · spam complaints [S3] - API options: yes · yes [S2] - API tokens: Marketing Suite dashboard · OAuth handshake [S7] - Auth handling: yes · yes · yes [S2] - Calculator: yes [S1] - Click open tracking: yes · yes [S2] - Click open tracking: yes · yes [S3] - Cost calculator: yes [S5] - Css inlining: yes [S4] - Dashboard: yes · log files · statistics · DMARC reports · archived emails [S1] - Dkim signing: yes [S3] - Dkim signing: yes [S1] - Dmarc deployment: yes · yes [S3] - Drag drop editor: yes · yes [S1] - Employee access: no · yes · yes [S7] - Employee data abroad: yes · yes [S7] - Feature background topics: accounts and users · bounce handling · click and open tracking · DKIM signing · DMARC deployment · email throttling · inline CSS · license and billing · logfiles · sender domains · SPF validation · webversion [S2] - Feedback tracking: clicks · opens · bounces · yes [S1] - Html editor: yes [S1] - Newsletters: Copernica regular · Copernica software updates · Copernica partners · SMTPeter regular · MailerQ regular · yes [S7] - No html required: no [S4] - Notifications: in-app · browser push · email · yes [S7] - Protocols: yes · yes · DKIM · SPF · DMARC [S1] - Resources: FAQ · Blog · Documentation · Email authentication · Terms of service · Privacy Policy · User agreement [S5] - Rest API logs: yes · download log files · analyze statistics · request messages [S1] - Rest auth: access token · login credentials [S2] - Rest recommended: faster, no SMTP handshake · REST API [S2] - Sender domain dns: sender domain with DNS configuration required to send [S4] - Sender domains: sender domain concept with DNS settings and verification code [S2] - Sending scale: Email sending service with pricing that scales from small senders to millions of emails per month [S5] - Shared user database: copernica.com · smtpeter.com · mailerq.com [S7] - Smtp and rest API: REST API · SMTP API [S4] - Smtp clients: Gmail app · Apple mail · Mozilla Thunderbird · Android email [S4] - Smtp rest API: SMTP · REST API [S3] - Spf validation: yes · yes [S3] - Take identity feature: yes [S7] - Template editor: yes · yes [S4] - Template storage format: dashboard · REST API · JSON [S1] - Template store: yes · yes [S1] - Templates: yes · yes · yes · yes · yes [S2] - Tracking leadinfo: Leadinfo · Rotterdam · yes [S7] - Update communication: yes · yes [S4] **Subprocessors** - 8x8: 8x8 · telephone system [S7] - Pipedrive: Pipedrive · sales process [S7] - Recruitee: Recruitee · Applicant Tracking System · 180 [S7] - Statuspage: Email address · statuspage.io · emergency system status notifications [S7] **Support** - Contract price: technical support contract · 89 [S5] - Documentation faq: yes · yes · yes · yes · yes · yes [S2] ## Questions ### Is SMTPeter European? Yes. whats-best.ai classifies SMTPeter as EU-Made. ### Where does SMTPeter store data? The default storage location for customer data is not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026. The vendor’s pages mention Netherlands as hosting location, per [the vendor’s page captured 1 Nov 2026](https://whats-best.ai/evidence/14335). ### Does SMTPeter have a free plan? Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026. ### What are the best alternatives to SMTPeter? As of 2 Nov 2026, the panel rates [Lettermint (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/transactional-email/lettermint), [Bird Email API (formerly SparkPost) (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/transactional-email/bird-email-api) and [Postmark (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/transactional-email/postmark) highest among the other 15 Transactional Email products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Lettermint](https://whats-best.ai/software/transactional-email/lettermint) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [SMTPeter alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/transactional-email/smtpeter/alternatives). ## What this page leaves out - 8 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 2 legal facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 2 subprocessors facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 3 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown. - 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement. ## Sources - [S1] Vendor homepage: https://www.smtpeter.com/en (checked 2026-11-01) - [S2] API documentation: https://www.smtpeter.com/en/documentation/introduction (checked 2026-11-01) - [S3] Features page (email authentication): https://www.smtpeter.com/en/email-authentication (checked 2026-11-01) - [S4] Documentation (FAQ): https://www.smtpeter.com/en/faq (checked 2026-11-01) - [S5] Pricing page: https://www.smtpeter.com/en/Pricing (checked 2026-11-01) - [S6] Terms of service: https://www.smtpeter.com/en/terms-of-service (checked 2026-11-01) - [S7] Privacy policy: https://www.smtpeter.com/en/privacy-policy (checked 2026-11-01) - [S8] Acceptable use policy: https://www.smtpeter.com/en/user-agreement (checked 2026-11-01) --- Cite as: whats-best.ai, "SMTPeter — Transactional Email", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-11-06. https://whats-best.ai/software/transactional-email/smtpeter Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/1273?target=page