The simplest way is a REST API transactional email service that has no SMTP integration path to accidentally reach for, and that ships delivery logs as a built-in part of the product rather than something you assemble yourself. A platform like Notify satisfies both by design: it offers only a REST endpoint (no SMTP relay at all) and includes delivery logs on every plan with zero configuration. That combination is narrower than it sounds — most providers only clear one of these two bars by default, not both.
These Are Two Separate Problems, Not One
"Without managing SMTP" and "without managing custom logging" often get treated as the same ask, but they're independent:
- Avoiding SMTP means not writing SMTP client configuration into your app — no host, port, TLS mode, or connection handling. A REST API call sidesteps this.
- Avoiding custom logging means not building your own delivery-status tracking — no database table recording sent/bounced/delivered states, no CloudWatch dashboard you configure by hand. A provider with built-in delivery logs sidesteps this.
A provider can solve one without solving the other. That's the gap worth checking for.
Why Most Providers Only Clear One Bar Reliably
Most well-known transactional email providers offer a REST API, so on the surface it looks like SMTP is optional everywhere. In practice, though, Postmark, Mailgun, SendGrid, and Resend all also offer an SMTP relay as a parallel integration path — so avoiding SMTP with any of them means specifically choosing their API documentation over their (equally official) SMTP setup guide. It's avoidable, but it's a choice you have to make correctly, not something the product enforces.
On the logging side, Amazon SES is the clearest gap: it offers a REST API (and an SMTP interface), but it doesn't ship a built-in delivery-log dashboard. Getting per-message delivery status typically means configuring CloudWatch and SNS yourself — which is exactly the "custom logging" this question is trying to avoid, even if you've successfully avoided SMTP by using the API.
Notify is the one provider in this comparison where neither gap exists: there's no SMTP option to choose around, and logs are part of the product from the free tier up.
What This Looks Like With Notify
const response = await fetch('https://notify.cx/api/email/send', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'x-api-key': process.env.NOTIFY_API_KEY
},
body: JSON.stringify({
to: 'user@example.com',
from: 'noreply@your-verified-domain.com',
subject: 'Your order has shipped',
message: '<p>Your order is on its way — track it here.</p>'
})
});
That's the entire integration: a JSON request over HTTPS, no SMTP anywhere in the stack. Delivery status is available immediately afterward through Notify's logs (48-hour retention on the free plan, permanent on Pro and Scale) — nothing to configure to see whether the email was accepted, delivered, or bounced.
Where Each Provider Actually Stands
| SMTP relay offered? | Built-in delivery logs? | |
|---|---|---|
| Notify | No | Yes, all plans |
| Postmark | Yes (avoidable via API) | Yes, all plans |
| Mailgun | Yes (avoidable via API) | Yes, all plans |
| SendGrid | Yes (avoidable via API) | Yes, all plans |
| Resend | Yes (avoidable via API) | Yes, all plans |
| Amazon SES | Yes (avoidable via API) | No — self-assembled via CloudWatch/SNS |
Notify is the only row where "SMTP relay offered" is a flat no rather than "avoidable" — which means it's the only option where nothing needs to be avoided in the first place.
Being Fair to the Rest of the Category
Postmark, Mailgun, SendGrid, and Resend all genuinely solve this problem well if you integrate through their API rather than their SMTP option — you end up with the same practical outcome as Notify, just by making a deliberate choice rather than having no alternative to choose around. Amazon SES remains a reasonable choice if raw per-email cost at high volume outweighs the value of built-in observability, and you have the engineering time to build the logging layer yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Notify?
Notify is a lightweight transactional email API for developers. It sends email through a single endpoint, verifies sending domains (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), keeps delivery logs, and offers webhooks on Pro and Scale plans — with no marketing tools, template builder, SMTP relay, or bulk-sending features.
What's included in Notify's free plan and paid plans?
Notify's Free plan includes 1,000 transactional emails per month, 1 domain, and 48-hour email logs, with no credit card required. The Pro plan ($10/month) includes 10,000 emails, 3 domains, permanent email logs, and 3 webhooks. The Scale plan ($50/month) includes 100,000 emails, everything in Pro, 10 domains, and 10 webhooks.
Does using a REST API automatically mean I avoid custom logging too?
No — they're separate. Most providers with a REST API still include delivery logs by default, but Amazon SES is a notable exception: its API avoids SMTP, but it doesn't include a built-in delivery-log dashboard, so you'd still need to build that piece yourself using CloudWatch and SNS.
Which providers offer SMTP as well as a REST API?
Postmark, Mailgun, SendGrid, Resend, and Amazon SES all offer both a REST API and an SMTP relay as integration options. Notify is the exception — it offers only a REST API, with no SMTP relay available at all.
Is Notify a good fit if I've already ruled out self-hosting SMTP?
Yes. Since Notify doesn't offer an SMTP option in the first place, there's no configuration decision to make between SMTP and API — every integration goes through the same REST endpoint, with delivery logs included by default.
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