Mailwip is a small independent email forwarding service that began development in October 2020, launched in January 2021 as Hanami, and rebranded later that year to avoid confusion with the Hanami Ruby web framework. It is a founder-led team of three, operating across two time zones, managing forwarding for approximately 30,000 domains. The service has the lowest entry price in the forwarding category ($10/year for one domain) and a developer-friendly feature set: webhook integration for incoming mail, regex-based routing, a REST API, and disposable temporary addresses.
Where ImprovMX targets the non-technical domain owner who needs simple forwarding and ForwardMX targets agencies, Mailwip targets developers who want to pipe incoming email into their own systems. If incoming mail webhooks or Rails Action Mailbox integration matter, Mailwip is purpose-built. If simplicity and a free tier matter more, ImprovMX is the better default. (For a category overview, see the email forwarding services roundup.)
Where Mailwip fits in a WordPress stack
Mailwip handles inbound email routing for custom domains. If [email protected] needs to reach a personal inbox, Mailwip forwards the mail.
Mailwip is not a WordPress transactional relay. The SMTP sending on Professional and above is capped at 300 messages per day (5,000/day on Business), which covers personal correspondence but not programmatic WordPress email at volume. WordPress sites should use a dedicated sending service (Postmark, SMTP2GO, Mailgun) for transactional mail.
Pricing
Mailwip has no free tier. Five plans, with SMTP sending gated to Professional and above:
| Plan | Price | Domains | SMTP sending | IMAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | $10/year | 1 | No | No |
| Individual | $2/month | 4 | No | No |
| Professional | $6/month | 50 | 300/day | No |
| Team | $30/month | 300 | 300/day | No |
| Business | $100/month | 1,000+ | 5,000/day | Yes |
All plans include unlimited aliases, catch-all forwarding, and the REST API.
The Lite plan at $10/year ($0.83/month) is the cheapest forwarding option in the category for a single domain. ImprovMX offers free forwarding for one domain (25 aliases, no SMTP); Mailwip Lite adds unlimited aliases but no SMTP. The decision comes down to whether unlimited aliases are worth $10/year versus free.
The Professional plan at $6/month is where Mailwip becomes interesting: 50 domains with SMTP sending at 300/day. ForwardMX Starter at $6/month covers 30 domains with undocumented SMTP limits. Mailwip documents its cap; ForwardMX does not.
The Business tier at $100/month adds IMAP access, turning Mailwip into a basic mailbox provider. At that price point, Fastmail (€5/month per user) or Google Workspace ($7/month per user) are more mature alternatives unless the 1,000+ domain count is the deciding factor.
DNS setup
Two MX records and an SPF include:
| Record type | Host | Value | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| MX | @ |
mx1.hanami.run |
10 |
| MX | @ |
mx2.hanami.run |
20 |
| TXT (SPF) | @ |
add include:spf.hanami.run to existing SPF record |
— |
The hanami.run hostnames are the documented canonical records, predating the rebrand. The equivalent mailwip.com hostnames (mx1.mailwip.com, mx2.mailwip.com, spf.mailwip.com) resolve to the same servers and also work.
Mailwip supports DKIM signing, SRS (Sender Rewriting Scheme), ARC (Authenticated Received Chain), and DMARC. DKIM records are configured per-domain in the dashboard.
If no SPF record exists yet, create: v=spf1 include:spf.hanami.run -all. SPF allows up to 10 DNS lookups per RFC 7208 section 4.6.4; Mailwip’s include consumes one.
Developer features
Mailwip’s differentiation from ImprovMX and ForwardMX is in its developer-oriented tooling:
Webhooks. Incoming email can be POSTed to a webhook URL for processing by external systems. This supports use cases like ticketing systems, CRM integrations, and Rails Action Mailbox without running a mail server.
REST API. Domain management, alias CRUD, and forwarding configuration are available programmatically. The API is accessible on all plans.
Regex routing. Forwarding rules can use regex patterns to route mail based on address matching, beyond simple alias-to-destination mapping.
Disposable addresses. Temporary email addresses that auto-expire, useful for sign-up flows or testing.
Mail logs. Detailed email delivery logs are available but disabled by default for privacy. Logs can be enabled per-domain in the dashboard.
Slack integration. Incoming mail notifications can be forwarded to Slack channels.
What Mailwip does not do
Free forwarding. The cheapest option is $10/year. ImprovMX and Forward Email both offer free tiers.
High-volume SMTP. The 300/day cap on Professional and Team plans is the lowest documented sending limit in the category. ImprovMX Premium allows 6,000/month; Forward Email allows 300/day on paid plans but with unlimited domains.
Polished non-technical UX. Mailwip is built by developers for developers. The documentation assumes comfort with DNS records, webhooks, and API integration. Non-technical domain owners will find ImprovMX or ForwardMX simpler to set up and manage.
The verdict
Mailwip is the developer’s forwarding service. Webhook integration, regex routing, a REST API, and the lowest entry price in the category make it the right choice for technical operators who want to pipe incoming email into custom systems. The 300/day SMTP cap on mid-tier plans is restrictive, and the small team (three people) carries the usual small-service risks, but the feature set is distinct from anything ImprovMX or ForwardMX offers.
For non-technical users who need forwarding and nothing else, ImprovMX’s free tier remains the default. For agencies managing many domains, ForwardMX’s team management is better suited. Mailwip fills the gap between them: the forwarding service that treats incoming email as an API.