Flywheel is a managed WordPress host acquired by WP Engine in 2019, positioned for designers and agencies. Unlike WP Engine’s MailChannels relay, Flywheel routes default WordPress email through SendGrid, a managed relay that is preconfigured on every site. No SMTP plugin is needed for basic transactional email (password resets, form submissions, comment notifications). Daily sending limits vary by plan tier but are not disclosed.
Flywheel does not provide email hosting. No mailboxes, no IMAP/POP3, no forwarding. Domain email requires a separate provider.
Plans start at $25/month (Starter, 1 site).
Email on Flywheel
What works out of the box
WordPress core’s wp_mail() routes through Flywheel’s managed SendGrid relay by default. Password resets, registration notifications, and form submissions send without any configuration. This is a cleaner default than most shared hosts, where PHP mail() sends unsigned messages through the local server.
Installing an SMTP plugin (WP Mail SMTP, FluentSMTP, Post SMTP) bypasses Flywheel’s SendGrid routing entirely. This matters: if a third-party relay is configured via plugin, Flywheel’s built-in delivery is no longer involved.
Sending limits
Flywheel imposes daily email limits that vary by plan tier. The exact numbers are not published. Flywheel’s documentation describes the limits as "high enough to support site functions such as password resets and form submissions" but insufficient for marketing or bulk sending. Exceeding the limit triggers a temporary block until midnight UTC.
SMTP port access
| Port | Status |
|---|---|
| 25 | Blocked (Google Cloud infrastructure) |
| 465 | Open (SMTPS) |
| 587 | Open (STARTTLS) |
Ports 465 and 587 are open for third-party SMTP plugin connections. Microsoft 365 requires port 587.
What Flywheel does not provide
Email hosting. No mailboxes, no webmail, no forwarding. Domain email requires Google Workspace ($7/month per user), Fastmail (from €5/month), or a forwarding service (ImprovMX, Forward Email).
Disclosed sending limits. The undisclosed daily cap makes capacity planning impossible. For sites where email volume is a known quantity, a dedicated relay with documented limits is the safer choice.
Email delivery monitoring. No bounce tracking, no delivery analytics from the platform.
When to add a third-party relay
Flywheel’s SendGrid relay is adequate for low-traffic sites with incidental transactional email. Add a dedicated sending service (Postmark, SMTP2GO, Mailgun) when:
- Email volume may approach the undisclosed daily limit.
- The site needs delivery analytics, bounce handling, or suppression lists.
- Custom DKIM signing on the site’s own domain is required.
Note that installing an SMTP plugin replaces Flywheel’s built-in SendGrid relay rather than supplementing it.