I have a Ruby on Rails app that sends emails using Gmail’s SMTP service. Everything works great and emails don’t end up in spam folders. However, I’m worried about hitting the 500 email daily limit. Right now I’m sending around 350 emails per day and getting close to that threshold.
I’ve searched online but can’t find any official Google documentation about this limit. Only found some blog posts mentioning it. My main question is what are my options for sending more than 500 emails daily while still using Gmail SMTP if possible?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Yep, the 500 email limit is real and Google enforces it hard - they just don’t advertise it much. Found out when my app started throwing SMTP auth errors after hitting that wall. Workspace accounts get around 2000/day, but that’s still nothing for serious email volume. At 350 emails daily, you’re gonna hit that ceiling soon. I’d keep Gmail SMTP as backup but switch to something like Amazon SES or Postmark for your main sending. Rails makes this easy - just set up multiple delivery methods and route different email types where they need to go.
Been through this exact scenario six months ago with a client notification system. The 500 limit’s real - Google will suspend your SMTP access if you keep going over. I went with a hybrid approach that worked great. Kept Gmail SMTP for critical stuff like password resets and user confirmations, moved bulk notifications to Amazon SES. Rails ActionMailer handles multiple delivery methods, so the transition was smoother than I expected. SES is dirt cheap compared to other services and gives you way better analytics. Just don’t forget to set up your SPF and DKIM records properly or your deliverability will tank.
have u considered using sendgrid or mailgun? they’re way better for sending bulk emails than gmail. once u hit that limit, ur deliverability might take a hit. both have free tiers, so check em out!