Where your agents' mail lives.
Most email for agents is a hosted service that keeps your mail on its servers. Inbot keeps it on yours.
Against hosted services
Nothing to run, but your agents' mail lives on someone else's servers.
| InbotSelf-hosted | AgentMailHosted | NylasHosted | ResendHosted | OpenMailHosted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Your own machine, as a background service on macOS, Linux or Windows. | Vendor cloud. Enterprise can run in your AWS account. | Vendor cloud | Vendor cloud | Vendor cloud in the EU |
| Source | Open source, MIT | Closed. MCP server is open source. | Closed | Closed. MCP server and CLI are open source. | Closed. MCP server is open source. |
| Stored mail | Encrypted database on your machine. Mail waiting in Cloudflare is ciphertext only. | Vendor-managed encryption at rest and in transit. | Hosted by the vendor. Free plan retention: 30 days inbox, 7 days spam; configurable by policy. | Hosted by the vendor, 30-day retention | Hosted by the vendor in the EU |
| Custom domain | Yes, on a Cloudflare zone | Yes, on paid plans | Yes | Yes | Yes, on Pro |
| MCP | Local, and remote through your tunnel | Hosted | Hosted | Hosted and local; beta inbox tools are hosted only and require access. | Hosted, with OAuth or API key authentication |
| CLI | Mail resources and local owner management; browser and OAuth protocol flows use their own interfaces. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Webhooks and live events | Signed webhooks and WebSocket | Webhooks and WebSocket | Webhooks | Webhooks | Webhooks and WebSocket |
| Approval before sending | Enforced for API key and OAuth grants: direct, approval or read_only | Draft review workflow; a mandatory send-approval policy is not documented in the linked guide. | Rules and quotas; a mandatory send-approval step is not documented in the linked overview. | Not documented | Not documented |
| Agent access | Scoped API keys and OAuth | API keys, OAuth for MCP | API keys | API keys, OAuth for MCP | API keys, OAuth for MCP |
| Cost to start | Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month; 3,000 sends included, then $0.35/1,000. Domain, host and usage costs are separate. | Free: 3 inboxes, 3,000 emails/month, 100/day. Developer: $20/month for 10 inboxes and 10,000 emails; add-ons cost extra. | Free: 3 Agent Accounts and 3,000 emails/month. Essentials: $15/month for 10 accounts and 10,000 emails; overages cost extra. | Transactional email: 3,000/month free, 100/day. Pro: $20/month for 50,000; extra emails $0.90/1,000. Inbox beta access is separate. | Free: 3 inboxes, 3,000 emails/month, 100/day. Pro: EUR 9/month for 10 inboxes and 10,000 emails, plus usage. |
AgentMail Hosted
- Where it runs
- Vendor cloud. Enterprise can run in your AWS account.
- Inbot Your own machine, as a background service on macOS, Linux or Windows.
- Source
- Closed. MCP server is open source.
- Inbot Open source, MIT
- Stored mail
- Vendor-managed encryption at rest and in transit.
- Inbot Encrypted database on your machine. Mail waiting in Cloudflare is ciphertext only.
- Custom domain
- Yes, on paid plans
- Inbot Yes, on a Cloudflare zone
- MCP
- Hosted
- Inbot Local, and remote through your tunnel
- CLI
- Yes
- Inbot Mail resources and local owner management; browser and OAuth protocol flows use their own interfaces.
- Webhooks and live events
- Webhooks and WebSocket
- Inbot Signed webhooks and WebSocket
- Approval before sending
- Draft review workflow; a mandatory send-approval policy is not documented in the linked guide.
- Inbot Enforced for API key and OAuth grants: direct, approval or read_only
- Agent access
- API keys, OAuth for MCP
- Inbot Scoped API keys and OAuth
- Cost to start
- Free: 3 inboxes, 3,000 emails/month, 100/day. Developer: $20/month for 10 inboxes and 10,000 emails; add-ons cost extra.
- Inbot Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month; 3,000 sends included, then $0.35/1,000. Domain, host and usage costs are separate.
Nylas Hosted
- Where it runs
- Vendor cloud
- Inbot Your own machine, as a background service on macOS, Linux or Windows.
- Source
- Closed
- Inbot Open source, MIT
- Stored mail
- Hosted by the vendor. Free plan retention: 30 days inbox, 7 days spam; configurable by policy.
- Inbot Encrypted database on your machine. Mail waiting in Cloudflare is ciphertext only.
- Custom domain
- Yes
- Inbot Yes, on a Cloudflare zone
- MCP
- Hosted
- Inbot Local, and remote through your tunnel
- CLI
- Yes
- Inbot Mail resources and local owner management; browser and OAuth protocol flows use their own interfaces.
- Webhooks and live events
- Webhooks
- Inbot Signed webhooks and WebSocket
- Approval before sending
- Rules and quotas; a mandatory send-approval step is not documented in the linked overview.
- Inbot Enforced for API key and OAuth grants: direct, approval or read_only
- Agent access
- API keys
- Inbot Scoped API keys and OAuth
- Cost to start
- Free: 3 Agent Accounts and 3,000 emails/month. Essentials: $15/month for 10 accounts and 10,000 emails; overages cost extra.
- Inbot Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month; 3,000 sends included, then $0.35/1,000. Domain, host and usage costs are separate.
Resend Hosted
- Where it runs
- Vendor cloud
- Inbot Your own machine, as a background service on macOS, Linux or Windows.
- Source
- Closed. MCP server and CLI are open source.
- Inbot Open source, MIT
- Stored mail
- Hosted by the vendor, 30-day retention
- Inbot Encrypted database on your machine. Mail waiting in Cloudflare is ciphertext only.
- Custom domain
- Yes
- Inbot Yes, on a Cloudflare zone
- MCP
- Hosted and local; beta inbox tools are hosted only and require access.
- Inbot Local, and remote through your tunnel
- CLI
- Yes
- Inbot Mail resources and local owner management; browser and OAuth protocol flows use their own interfaces.
- Webhooks and live events
- Webhooks
- Inbot Signed webhooks and WebSocket
- Approval before sending
- Not documented
- Inbot Enforced for API key and OAuth grants: direct, approval or read_only
- Agent access
- API keys, OAuth for MCP
- Inbot Scoped API keys and OAuth
- Cost to start
- Transactional email: 3,000/month free, 100/day. Pro: $20/month for 50,000; extra emails $0.90/1,000. Inbox beta access is separate.
- Inbot Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month; 3,000 sends included, then $0.35/1,000. Domain, host and usage costs are separate.
OpenMail Hosted
- Where it runs
- Vendor cloud in the EU
- Inbot Your own machine, as a background service on macOS, Linux or Windows.
- Source
- Closed. MCP server is open source.
- Inbot Open source, MIT
- Stored mail
- Hosted by the vendor in the EU
- Inbot Encrypted database on your machine. Mail waiting in Cloudflare is ciphertext only.
- Custom domain
- Yes, on Pro
- Inbot Yes, on a Cloudflare zone
- MCP
- Hosted, with OAuth or API key authentication
- Inbot Local, and remote through your tunnel
- CLI
- Yes
- Inbot Mail resources and local owner management; browser and OAuth protocol flows use their own interfaces.
- Webhooks and live events
- Webhooks and WebSocket
- Inbot Signed webhooks and WebSocket
- Approval before sending
- Not documented
- Inbot Enforced for API key and OAuth grants: direct, approval or read_only
- Agent access
- API keys, OAuth for MCP
- Inbot Scoped API keys and OAuth
- Cost to start
- Free: 3 inboxes, 3,000 emails/month, 100/day. Pro: EUR 9/month for 10 inboxes and 10,000 emails, plus usage.
- Inbot Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month; 3,000 sends included, then $0.35/1,000. Domain, host and usage costs are separate.
Against other self-hosted options
Your infrastructure too. The difference is what protects mail at rest and what the service enforces.
| InbotSelf-hosted | Cloudflare Agentic InboxSelf-deployed | openagentemailSelf-hosted | dearagentSelf-deployed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Your own machine, as a background service on macOS, Linux or Windows. | Your Cloudflare account | Your server, with Docker Compose | Your Cloudflare account |
| Source | Open source, MIT | Open source, Apache-2.0 | Open source, Apache-2.0 | Open source, AGPL-3.0 |
| Stored mail | Encrypted database on your machine. Mail waiting in Cloudflare is ciphertext only. | Durable Objects and R2 in your account. No app-level encryption documented. | Your server. No app-level encryption documented. | D1 and R2 in your account. No app-level encryption documented. |
| Custom domain | Yes, on a Cloudflare zone | Yes | Yes | Yes, apex domain only |
| MCP | Local, and remote through your tunnel | Built in | Yes | Yes |
| CLI | Mail resources and local owner management; browser and OAuth protocol flows use their own interfaces. | No dedicated CLI | Setup CLI; a dedicated mail-resource CLI is not documented in the linked README. | No |
| Webhooks and live events | Signed webhooks and WebSocket | Not documented | Webhooks | Signed webhooks |
| Approval before sending | Enforced for API key and OAuth grants: direct, approval or read_only | External MCP agents create drafts for owner review. | Reviewer decisions are recorded; they do not execute an action. | Not built in |
| Agent access | Scoped API keys and OAuth | Cloudflare Access for the owner | Identity tokens with scopes; separate operator credentials and remote MCP OAuth. | Bearer key |
| Cost to start | Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month; 3,000 sends included, then $0.35/1,000. Domain, host and usage costs are separate. | Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month for sending, plus infrastructure usage. | Free software; server, domain and mail-provider or relay costs are separate. | Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month for sending, plus infrastructure usage. |
Cloudflare Agentic Inbox Self-deployed
- Where it runs
- Your Cloudflare account
- Inbot Your own machine, as a background service on macOS, Linux or Windows.
- Source
- Open source, Apache-2.0
- Inbot Open source, MIT
- Stored mail
- Durable Objects and R2 in your account. No app-level encryption documented.
- Inbot Encrypted database on your machine. Mail waiting in Cloudflare is ciphertext only.
- Custom domain
- Yes
- Inbot Yes, on a Cloudflare zone
- MCP
- Built in
- Inbot Local, and remote through your tunnel
- CLI
- No dedicated CLI
- Inbot Mail resources and local owner management; browser and OAuth protocol flows use their own interfaces.
- Webhooks and live events
- Not documented
- Inbot Signed webhooks and WebSocket
- Approval before sending
- External MCP agents create drafts for owner review.
- Inbot Enforced for API key and OAuth grants: direct, approval or read_only
- Agent access
- Cloudflare Access for the owner
- Inbot Scoped API keys and OAuth
- Cost to start
- Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month for sending, plus infrastructure usage.
- Inbot Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month; 3,000 sends included, then $0.35/1,000. Domain, host and usage costs are separate.
openagentemail Self-hosted
- Where it runs
- Your server, with Docker Compose
- Inbot Your own machine, as a background service on macOS, Linux or Windows.
- Source
- Open source, Apache-2.0
- Inbot Open source, MIT
- Stored mail
- Your server. No app-level encryption documented.
- Inbot Encrypted database on your machine. Mail waiting in Cloudflare is ciphertext only.
- Custom domain
- Yes
- Inbot Yes, on a Cloudflare zone
- MCP
- Yes
- Inbot Local, and remote through your tunnel
- CLI
- Setup CLI; a dedicated mail-resource CLI is not documented in the linked README.
- Inbot Mail resources and local owner management; browser and OAuth protocol flows use their own interfaces.
- Webhooks and live events
- Webhooks
- Inbot Signed webhooks and WebSocket
- Approval before sending
- Reviewer decisions are recorded; they do not execute an action.
- Inbot Enforced for API key and OAuth grants: direct, approval or read_only
- Agent access
- Identity tokens with scopes; separate operator credentials and remote MCP OAuth.
- Inbot Scoped API keys and OAuth
- Cost to start
- Free software; server, domain and mail-provider or relay costs are separate.
- Inbot Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month; 3,000 sends included, then $0.35/1,000. Domain, host and usage costs are separate.
dearagent Self-deployed
- Where it runs
- Your Cloudflare account
- Inbot Your own machine, as a background service on macOS, Linux or Windows.
- Source
- Open source, AGPL-3.0
- Inbot Open source, MIT
- Stored mail
- D1 and R2 in your account. No app-level encryption documented.
- Inbot Encrypted database on your machine. Mail waiting in Cloudflare is ciphertext only.
- Custom domain
- Yes, apex domain only
- Inbot Yes, on a Cloudflare zone
- MCP
- Yes
- Inbot Local, and remote through your tunnel
- CLI
- No
- Inbot Mail resources and local owner management; browser and OAuth protocol flows use their own interfaces.
- Webhooks and live events
- Signed webhooks
- Inbot Signed webhooks and WebSocket
- Approval before sending
- Not built in
- Inbot Enforced for API key and OAuth grants: direct, approval or read_only
- Agent access
- Bearer key
- Inbot Scoped API keys and OAuth
- Cost to start
- Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month for sending, plus infrastructure usage.
- Inbot Free software. Workers Paid starts at $5/month; 3,000 sends included, then $0.35/1,000. Domain, host and usage costs are separate.
When Inbot fits
Choose Inbot if
- Mail your agents read should stay on hardware you control.
- You want the service, not the prompt, to decide what an agent may send.
- Your domain already runs on Cloudflare, or can.
Look elsewhere if
- You want a hosted service with nothing to run.
- Your machine cannot be online regularly. Mail waits safely, but agents only see it once Inbot collects it.
- You need a free plan with no Cloudflare subscription.
Sources
Pricing and linked documentation checked on . Paid prices use monthly billing. Usage, domains and infrastructure can add costs. Undocumented features are not assumed absent; report a correction if these sources have changed.
Report a correction- Inbot
- inbot.kerd.dev/docs/get-started/install
- inbot.kerd.dev/docs/concepts/security
- developers.cloudflare.com/workers/platform/pricing/
- developers.cloudflare.com/email-service/platform/pricing/
- AgentMail
- agentmail.to/pricing
- docs.agentmail.to/knowledge-base/human-in-the-loop
- agentmail.to/legal/privacy
- openagentemail
- github.com/openagentemail/openagentemail