FlareMail vs Mailflare is a hosting choice. Both are Cloudflare inboxes. Mailflare is self-hosted (Docker is also an option), AGPL-3.0, with 4,321 GitHub stars. Mail stays in your D1 and R2. FlareMail is hosted: you create an account, open the app, and connect a domain. FlareMail operates the Worker, D1, and R2. The codebase is not public, so there is no clone-and-deploy path.
Short answer: FlareMail is a web inbox for Cloudflare-powered email — a hosted inbox, while Mailflare is the self-hosted project you deploy and operate yourself.
Cloudflare email inbox in your browser. First three domains free. Pro is $10/month for 12 domains, then $1 per extra domain. Agency is $60/month unlimited.
3 DOMAINS FREE · $10/MO PRO
Hosted inbox or a stack you operate
FlareMail is for people who already run on Cloudflare and do not want to provision the mail stack. You create an account, open the app, and connect a domain. The setup guide says about five minutes. One step sits outside the app: an Email Routing rule to the flaremail-api Worker. FlareMail operates the Worker, D1, and R2.
Mailflare is the self-hosted path in this comparison. You clone it and you keep it running. That can be the right trade when the mail must live in your Cloudflare account, or when a feature below is the reason you are here.
Side by side
Same job, different operator. Price on the FlareMail side is the domain plan, not a claim that self-hosting is free.
| FlareMail | Mailflare | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Hosted. Create an account and open the app. | Self-hosted. You deploy and operate it. |
| Who operates Worker, D1, and R2 | FlareMail operates the Worker, D1, and R2. | You do. |
| Setup | Connect a domain in the app. The setup guide says about five minutes, with one step outside the app: an Email Routing rule to the flaremail-api Worker. | Clone or run Docker, then operate your own Worker, D1, and R2. |
| Inbox | Browser inbox: read, folders, search, compose, attachments, labels, and privacy controls. | Personal and shared mailboxes, search, folders, stars, snooze, routing rules, calendar, and booking pages. |
| Send | Send from your domain in the same app. | Cloudflare, or Resend or Amazon SES per domain. Cloudflare Email Sending needs a paid Workers plan. Resend’s free tier is 3,000 emails a month. |
| Price | First 3 domains free. Pro is $10/month for 12 domains, then $1 per extra domain. Agency is $60/month unlimited. | No FlareMail fee. You pay for the Cloudflare account you run, plus the sender you choose. |
What the FlareMail screen actually is
The inbox list above is the web app from this product, with obviously fake mail so the screenshot does not use a customer account. The sign-in form at app.sendwithflare.com is only the account door. It is not the inbox.
What Mailflare is actually good at
Mailflare’s real strengths are the ones you get by owning the stack. Personal and shared mailboxes, search, folders, stars, snooze, and routing rules are in the product. Calendar and booking pages are there too. Each domain can send through Resend or Amazon SES as well as Cloudflare.
Cloudflare Email Sending on that path needs a paid Workers plan. Resend’s free tier is 3,000 emails a month. The trade is operations: you deploy it, you keep it running, and you pay Cloudflare (and whichever sender you attach) yourself. There is no FlareMail subscription on that path, and there is no hosted Mailflare plan in the facts above.
Which one to pick
Pick Mailflare when you want the bits in your account and you will operate them. Pick FlareMail when you want the inbox without becoming the person who provisions Worker, D1, and R2.
Start on onboarding and use the setup guide. First three domains are free. Pro is $10/month for 12 domains, then $1 per extra domain. Agency is $60/month unlimited.
Other FlareMail comparisons
The same hosted-versus-self-host question, for the rest of the field:
- FlareMail vs Agentic Inbox
- FlareMail vs Quickinbox
- FlareMail vs Orange Inbox
- FlareMail vs Email Explorer
- FlareMail vs Postern
- FlareMail vs Doota
- FlareMail vs cf-mail
- FlareMail vs Reccado
- FlareMail vs cloudflare-email
- FlareMail vs AgentBox
Create an account on onboarding, then follow the setup guide. The guide’s outside step is an Email Routing rule to the flaremail-api Worker.
FlareMail is free for your first three domains. Pro is $10/month for 12 domains, then $1 per extra domain. Agency is $60/month unlimited.
3 DOMAINS FREE · $10/MO PRO
Sources and context
- Cloudflare Email Service routes incoming emails to custom addresses, Workers, or external destinations.
- Cloudflare routing rules can send mail to an email address, send it to a Worker, or drop it.
- Cloudflare Workers can send email through send_email bindings.
- Cloudflare documents sending and routing as related but separate email setup paths.
- Cloudflare Email Routing can route mail to Workers for custom handling.
FAQ
Is Mailflare the same product as FlareMail?
No. Mailflare is a self-hosted inbox you deploy. FlareMail is a hosted inbox. FlareMail operates the Worker, D1, and R2.
Does Mailflare store mail in my Cloudflare account?
Yes. Mail stays in your D1 and R2. That is the point of the self-hosted path.
What does FlareMail cost if I do not want to self-host?
First three domains are free. Pro is $10/month for 12 domains, then $1 per extra domain. Agency is $60/month unlimited.
Three domains free. Pro is $10/month for 12 domains, then $1 per extra domain. Agency is $60/month unlimited.
3 DOMAINS FREE · $10/MO PRO