comparison · updated 2026-10-05
adbtd vs Mailforge: a Mailforge alternative with your own IP
Mailforge and adbtd both sell mailboxes for cold outreach on your own domains, with SPF, DKIM and DMARC handled for you. The difference is underneath: Mailforge spreads your mailboxes across a shared IP pool, adbtd gives you a dedicated mail server and a dedicated IP that nobody else sends from.
Disclosure: this page is published by adbtd. We tried to describe Mailforge the way its own website does, and every price below links to the page we read it on. If something has changed, email hi@adbtd.com and we will correct it.
The short version
Mailforge is part of the Forge family from Salesforge (alongside Infraforge, Primeforge and Warmforge). It sells IMAP / SMTP mailboxes in slots of ten or more, from $3 down to $2 per mailbox per month depending on volume, with domains bought in-app and DNS configured automatically. Its own pricing page describes it as distributed infrastructure that uses a shared IP pool, “distributing your mailbox accounts among millions of businesses - similar to platforms like Gmail or Outlook.”
adbtd sits on the other side of that trade-off. Every account gets its own Postfix and Dovecot container and at least one dedicated IP. Your reputation is yours alone, for better and for worse: nobody else’s complaints reach you, but a new IP has to be warmed up and you are the only one who can damage it.
If you want the simplest possible start and are happy to share reputation with a large pool, Mailforge is a reasonable choice and is cheaper at very small volumes. If you want to control the IP your mail leaves from, see per-IP data from Gmail and Outlook, and pay a flat price per mailbox with monthly billing, adbtd is built for that.
adbtd vs Mailforge at a glance
| adbtd | Mailforge | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Your own Postfix + Dovecot mail server in a single-tenant container, sending from your domains. | IMAP / SMTP mailboxes on Mailforge’s own servers, sold in slots (minimum 10). You pay for slots, even unused ones. |
| Pricing model | $1.99 per mailbox + $19 per dedicated IP, per month. No plan tiers, no per-message fees. | $3 per slot per month, falling in steps to $2 at 1,001+ slots. Annual billing gives two months free. |
| Dedicated IP | Always. Minimum one per account, never shared with another customer. Pin IPs to domains. | No. Mailboxes are spread over a shared IP pool. |
| Domains & DNS | Bring domains from any registrar (we don't sell domains yet). SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MTA-STS, TLS-RPT and BIMI records generated for you, then audited every six hours. | Buy domains in-app ($14/yr for .com) or transfer in. Automatic SPF, DKIM, DMARC and custom tracking domain. Domain masking $2/domain/mo. |
| Warmup | No warmup network. A recommended ramp, plus Google Postmaster, Microsoft SNDS and blocklist monitoring in the dashboard. | Not included. Mailforge recommends two weeks of warmup and points to Warmforge, a separate subscription. |
| Sending limits | None enforced. You own the IP's reputation; the docs recommend a ramp. | Recommended: 30 emails per mailbox per day (max 100), 2–3 mailboxes per domain. |
| Access | IMAP, SMTP submission, webmail, inbound forwarding and webhooks. Works with any tool that speaks SMTP / IMAP. | IMAP / SMTP credentials via CSV export, one-click export to Instantly, native Salesforge integration. |
| API & agents | REST API for everything in the dashboard, plus an MCP server for AI agents. | API for domains, mailboxes, DNS and forwarding; Mailforge also lists MCP and CLI. |
| Billing | Monthly, cancel any month. USD, EUR or GBP at the same numbers. | Monthly or annual. Terms: auto-renewal, cancellation via live chat at least 7 days before the term ends, prepaid fees not refunded. |
Pricing at 10, 50 and 200 mailboxes
Mailforge charges per mailbox slot and has no IP line item, because the IPs are shared. adbtd charges per mailbox and per dedicated IP. Domains are extra on both.
| 10 mailboxes | 50 mailboxes | 200 mailboxes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| adbtd | $38.90 / mo 10 mailboxes + 1 dedicated IP | $118.50 / mo 50 mailboxes + 1 dedicated IP | $436 / mo 200 mailboxes + 2 dedicated IPs |
| Mailforge | $30 / mo 10 slots × $3 · $25/mo billed annually | $150 / mo 50 slots × $3 · $125/mo billed annually | $581 / mo 10 × $3 + 190 × $2.90 · $484/mo billed annually |
Prices as of October 2026, in USD, monthly billing, before tax. adbtd: $1.99 per mailbox and $19 per dedicated IP, nothing else; the IP count is your choice (minimum one). Mailforge: monthly slot prices from its pricing page; domains ($14/yr per .com), domain masking and warmup not included.
Where adbtd and Mailforge differ
Shared pool vs dedicated IP
This is the decision that matters most, and neither answer is wrong. A shared pool means your mail rides on the combined reputation of many senders. It needs no IP warmup and absorbs the occasional bad day, which is why Forge’s own comparison recommends Mailforge to “smaller businesses who are just starting out” and to anyone who expects a high volume of spam reports. The cost is that you cannot see or influence that reputation: if other senders on the pool behave badly, you share the consequences.
On adbtd the IP is assigned to your account and never shared with another customer. You can register it with Microsoft SNDS, see it in Google Postmaster Tools, pin specific domains to specific IPs to keep one campaign from affecting another, and the dashboard checks it against public blocklists. You start from zero history, so you warm it up yourself.
Price at different volumes
At 10 mailboxes Mailforge is cheaper, because adbtd’s mandatory dedicated IP is a fixed $19 on top. From around 20 mailboxes the per-mailbox difference ($1.99 vs $3) outweighs the IP, and at 200 mailboxes adbtd with two IPs costs roughly three quarters of Mailforge’s monthly price. Mailforge’s annual plan narrows the gap; adbtd does not offer annual billing.
Mailforge sells slots in blocks with a minimum of ten, and you pay for every slot whether or not you create a mailbox in it. adbtd bills the mailboxes you actually have, pro-rated when you add or remove them.
Ecosystem vs plain infrastructure
Mailforge is designed to plug into the rest of the Forge suite: one login across Salesforge, Warmforge, Infraforge and Primeforge, domains bought and masked in the same app, CSV and Instantly exports built in. That is convenient if you live in that ecosystem.
adbtd is deliberately plainer. You bring domains from your own registrar, publish the records we generate, and connect any sequencer or warmup tool over SMTP and IMAP. In return you get things a mailbox reseller usually does not offer: a webmail, inbound webhooks for replies, per-message spam scoring on outbound mail, and DNS audits every six hours.
When Mailforge is the better choice
Mailforge is a good product for a specific buyer. It is likely the better fit if:
- You are sending your first cold campaigns. A shared pool means no IP warmup and less exposure if your early lists are messy. Forge itself positions Mailforge for teams just starting out.
- You only need a handful of mailboxes. Ten Mailforge mailboxes cost $30 a month; adbtd’s floor is one mailbox plus one dedicated IP, and ten mailboxes come to $38.90.
- You already use Salesforge or Warmforge. Same login, native exports and in-app domain purchase save real setup time.
- You want domains bought and configured for you. adbtd does not sell domains yet; you register them elsewhere and publish our records.
Why teams switch from Mailforge to adbtd
- They want their own reputation. A dedicated IP means a bad actor elsewhere in a pool can no longer affect your placement, and Postmaster and SNDS data describe your traffic only.
- Their volume grew. At 50 mailboxes and above, $1.99 per mailbox plus a $19 IP is cheaper than Mailforge’s monthly slot pricing.
- They want monthly terms they can leave. adbtd bills monthly with no annual plan and no slot blocks; you cancel from the billing portal and keep service until the end of the paid month.
- They need more than outbound. Replies can trigger webhooks, AI agents can use the mailboxes through the API or MCP server, and the same stack can carry transactional mail on a separate IP.
Before you move anything, send a real message from your current setup to check.adbtd.com and keep the score: it is a free baseline to compare against after the switch. The full price list is on the pricing page, and the cold email infrastructure setup guide walks through domains, warmup and the Google / Yahoo / Microsoft sender rules.
Frequently asked
Does Mailforge give you a dedicated IP?
No. Mailforge’s pricing page describes it as distributed infrastructure that uses a shared IP pool. Forge’s dedicated-IP product is Infraforge. adbtd includes at least one dedicated IP on every account.
Is adbtd cheaper than Mailforge?
At 10 mailboxes, no: Mailforge is $30 a month and adbtd is $38.90 including the dedicated IP. At 50 mailboxes adbtd is $118.50 against Mailforge’s $150, and at 200 mailboxes with two IPs it is $436 against $581 (Mailforge monthly prices as of October 2026). Mailforge’s annual plan is cheaper than its monthly one.
Does adbtd include warmup?
No. Neither does Mailforge’s base price. adbtd mailboxes work with any warmup tool that connects over SMTP and IMAP, and the docs publish a recommended ramp.
Can I move my Mailforge domains to adbtd?
Yes. Add the domain to adbtd, publish the SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX records we show you at your DNS host, and the mailboxes activate once they resolve. Plan the switch so the MX change happens when you are ready to receive replies on the new mailboxes.
Looking for a Mailforge alternative?
Your own Postfix and Dovecot stack on a dedicated IP, your domain in every header.$1.99 per mailbox and $19 per dedicated IP per month, cancel any month.
Sources
- Mailforge pricing and FAQ (checked October 2026)
- Mailforge homepage (checked October 2026)
- Infraforge vs Mailforge (Forge’s own comparison) (checked October 2026)
- Mailforge setup guide (help center) (checked October 2026)
- Mailforge terms (checked October 2026)