Netcore Email API (formerly Pepipost) as a WordPress SMTP Server

Netcore Email API (formerly Pepipost) is aimed at developers and enterprises, not typical WordPress operators. Netcore has retired its public Email API pricing page: the tier table that used to sit at /email/pricing and /emailapi/pricing/ now returns 404, and the “Pricing” link on the Email API product page routes to a Customer Engagement Platform page whose tiers are all “Book Demo.” Paid tiers are effectively sales-gated. A perpetual free tier (100 emails/day, approximately 3,000/month) exists for testing and low-volume use.

The platform handles both transactional and marketing email at scale. Its differentiator is infrastructure breadth (US, EU, and Indian data residency) and volume: the service processes large email volumes for enterprise customers. For a typical WordPress site sending hundreds or low thousands of emails per month, Netcore is overspecced and overpriced.

SMTP settings

Setting Value
Host smtp.pepipost.com
Port 587 (recommended), 25, or 2525
Encryption TLS
Authentication API key

The smtp.pepipost.com hostname persists from the Pepipost era. Authentication uses an API key generated in the Netcore dashboard.

Pricing

Netcore no longer publishes an Email API pricing table. The dedicated pricing pages that used to live at /email/pricing and /emailapi/pricing/ return 404. The “Pricing” button on the Email API product page routes to /plan-and-pricing/, which is the Customer Engagement Platform pricing page: three tiers (Starter, Growth, Enterprise), all “Book Demo,” no dollar figures.

The free tier is still documented in Netcore’s own support portal:

Plan Price Volume
Free tier $0 100 emails/day (~3,000/mo)
Trial Free (first 30 days) 1,000 emails/day (~30,000 total)

For paid pricing, third-party aggregators (G2, Capterra) continue to report tier names Basic $349/mo, Scale $549/mo, Growth $899/mo. These are almost certainly stale scrape data from before Netcore removed the public pricing table – Netcore’s current visible tier names on /plan-and-pricing/ are Starter/Growth/Enterprise, not Basic/Scale/Growth. Take the aggregator numbers as a rough historical anchor rather than a current quote.

The free tier at 100 emails/day is adequate for a small WordPress site’s A transactional email is the automated message a WordPress site sends in response to a single user action – a password reset, an order confirmation, a form receipt – addressed to the user who triggered it. Read full reference →. For comparison: SMTP2GO offers 1,000/month (200/day) free with no restrictions, and Brevo offers 300/day free. Netcore’s free tier is smaller than either.

Beyond the free tier, the only reliable way to price Netcore Email API right now is to book a sales call.

WordPress integration

FluentSMTPFluentSMTP includes a native Pepipost/Netcore integration. Enter your API key, select Pepipost as the mailer, done.

Generic SMTP – Any mailer plugin (WP Mail SMTP, Post SMTP) can connect to smtp.pepipost.com using the SMTP settings above.

A dedicated Netcore WordPress plugin existed (Pepipost plugin) but appears to be no longer actively maintained. Use FluentSMTP or generic SMTP instead.

Assessment

Netcore Email API is a capable, enterprise-grade email infrastructure service with strong deliverability credentials. For the narrow use case of very high-volume WordPress email (roughly a million messages a month and up), it offers cloud-native infrastructure with Indian, EU, and US data residency options.

For WordPress sites at typical transactional volumes:

  • Under 1,000/month: SMTP2GO free tier covers this with zero cost and zero complexity.
  • 1,000-10,000/month: SMTP2GO Starter ($10/mo), Postmark ($15/mo), or Brevo (free for 300/day) serve this range with simpler setup and better WordPress ecosystem support.
  • 10,000-500,000/month: Mailgun or Amazon SES are more commonly used in the WordPress ecosystem at this scale, and both publish per-email pricing you can budget against without a sales call.
  • 500,000+/month: Netcore becomes worth a sales conversation alongside Amazon SES and Mailgun Scale plans, especially when Indian or EU data residency matters.

The platform’s developer-focused interface and enterprise pricing make it a poor fit for most WordPress operators. The free tier (100/day) is functional but outmatched by competitors. Netcore earns consideration only when volume and infrastructure requirements push beyond what the WordPress-focused relay market typically serves.

For the broader setup that places Netcore Email API inside the WordPress email stack, see the WordPress email setup guide.


SMTP settings from third-party documentation review. Netcore’s dedicated Email API pricing page has been retired (404); the Email API product page’s Pricing link now routes to the Customer Engagement Platform’s Book-Demo tiers. Any paid-tier figures referenced here (from G2 and Capterra aggregator listings) are almost certainly stale scrape data and are shown as historical anchors only. Free tier and trial details confirmed against Netcore’s own support portal.

Netcore Email API (formerly Pepipost) detailsWebsite ↗
Pricing Url
View ↗
Docs Url
View ↗
Owner
Netcore Cloud (acquired Pepipost 2020)
Founded
2014
Data Residency
us, in, eu
Smtp Host
smtp.pepipost.com
Smtp Ports
587, 25, 2525
Auth Methods
api-key
Api Send
Dns Setup Url
View ↗
Free Tier
Free Tier Notes
100 emails/day perpetual free tier. 30-day trial with 30,000 emails from verified domain.
Entry Price
349
Entry Volume
1000000
Pricing Notes
Netcore has retired its dedicated Email API pricing page. The former URLs (/email/pricing, /emailapi/pricing/) 404 for real browsers. The Email API product page's Pricing link now routes to Netcore's Customer Engagement Platform pricing page (Starter/Growth/Enterprise, all Book Demo, no numbers listed). Third-party aggregators (G2, Capterra) still report tier names Basic $349/mo, Scale $549/mo, Growth $899/mo, but these appear to be stale scrape data from before Netcore removed the public Email API pricing table. entry_price and entry_volume here reflect that aggregator data and should be treated as approximate; contact sales for a confirmed quote.
Pricing Verified
2026-07-11
Dedicated Ip
Available on higher plans
Inbound Routing
Webhooks
Email Validation
Template Engine
Capabilities Verified
2026-06-08
Works With
wp-mail-smtp, fluent-smtp, post-smtp
Wp Integration Verified
2026-06-12
Verdict
Enterprise-oriented platform with strong infrastructure, priced well above what typical WordPress sites need
Best For
high-volume senders (roughly 500K+/month) wanting an Indian/EU-residency alternative to SendGrid