Mailivery Alternative: Free Warm-Up for 20 Mailboxes

BobWork is a Mailivery alternative if you want warm-up at $0 for up to 10 mailboxes instead of Mailivery’s Starter price of $29/month. If you ignore provider differences, you may switch into a tool that cannot warm Microsoft 365 yet. This page compares costs, limits, strengths, risks, and the safest switch path.

If you want the free option first, open BobWork Email Warm-up and compare it against your current Mailivery setup. If your mailbox is on Microsoft 365, read the Outlook section before you move anything.

Prices were read on 3 October 2026 from the vendor’s pricing page. Check the current page before you buy.

Is BobWork a Mailivery alternative?

Yes, for many non-Outlook mailboxes.

BobWork Email Warm-up supports Gmail and Google Workspace, Zoho Mail, Lark Mail, Yahoo Mail, iCloud Mail, Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, and any IMAP+SMTP mailbox. It does not support Outlook or Microsoft 365 yet.

Mailivery is a better fit if your warm-up depends on Microsoft 365. The pricing information we checked lists Outlook support as M365. That provider difference can decide the comparison by itself.

The other major difference is billing. Mailivery’s Starter price was $29/month. BobWork is free for up to 10 mailboxes per account. Above 10 active mailboxes, each extra active mailbox is $5/month ($3 each from 10 extra, $2 each from 50 extra), billed by Stripe, prorated, and cancellable any time.

The pool model is similar in broad shape. Mailivery is listed as peer-to-peer between customers. BobWork uses a shared warm-up network by default, or a private pool per account if you prefer. In private mode, only your own mailboxes warm each other, and you need at least two mailboxes.

If you are comparing more vendors, keep this beside our best email warm-up tools comparison. It separates free-forever plans, trials, provider coverage, and paid warm-up tools.

How do the tools compare?

This table uses only the Mailivery facts available from the vendor pricing information we checked. Where the pricing page did not state a detail, the table says so.

The clean reading is simple. Mailivery wins when Microsoft 365 support is required. BobWork wins when price, free mailbox count, and visible warm-up behaviour matter more.

Do not assume Mailivery lacks a feature just because the pricing page did not state it. Pricing pages are often short. Check your Mailivery account, plan page, and support documentation before replacing a working setup.

Where is Mailivery stronger?

Mailivery has one clear advantage from the available facts: Outlook through Microsoft 365.

That matters because Microsoft 365 is common in sales teams, agencies, and B2B inboxes. If your sender addresses are hosted on Microsoft 365, BobWork is not the right replacement today.

Mailivery may also fit teams that prefer a paid vendor relationship. A paid tool can make sense when procurement needs an invoice, vendor review, or one account owner for deliverability operations. The specific support levels and extras were not stated on the pricing page we checked, so verify them directly.

Mailivery’s peer-to-peer model may also be familiar if your team already understands warm-up networks. You are not switching from a network model to a solo-only model.

Stay cautious with assumptions about network size. The Mailivery pricing information available to us did not state a network count. BobWork also does not publish a network number in articles. The live count is shown in the dashboard instead.

Mailivery can also be the safer operational choice if it is already working. If spam placement is low, replies are normal, DNS is clean, and outbound volume is stable, there may be no urgent reason to move.

Where does BobWork win?

BobWork wins on cost for any account with up to 10 supported mailboxes. There is no credit card, no time limit, and no paid upgrade for the first 10 active mailboxes.

It also wins on transparent warm-up behaviour. The default ramp starts at 3 emails per day, increases by 2 per day, and caps at 30 per day. Weekends run at 30%. Sends are spread from 09:00 to 18:00 in the mailbox’s own time zone.

The engine avoids obvious repeated patterns. A pair never writes to each other twice within 3 hours. Peers on a different domain or provider are picked twice as often. About 40% of received warm-up mail gets a reply, and threads end after 3 messages.

That behaviour is published in the warm-up engine rules. Use that page when you need to explain the schedule to a client, founder, or operations team.

BobWork also handles spam rescue for warm-up messages. Warm-up mail found in Spam is moved to Inbox, marked read, labelled “Warm-up”, and archived after 24 hours. Only mail carrying the engine’s own hidden header is touched. For Zoho API senders, a known subject is used. Real mail is never read, moved, or answered.

The free pool does this step automatically. You do not have to write fake messages, build reply scripts, or ask teammates to drag warm-up emails out of Spam.

The ready gate is visible too. A mailbox is ready for outbound after 14 or more days warming, a 7-day spam rate of 3% or lower, and at least 30 warm-up emails received. That does not guarantee inbox placement. It gives you a practical threshold before real outreach.

BobWork checks SPF, DKIM, and DMARC daily through DNS. It looks for common DKIM selectors including google, zmail, default, selector1, selector2, k1, s1, mail, dkim, lark, feishu, and zoho. You can also run separate checks with the free SPF checker, free DKIM checker, and free DMARC checker.

What will each option cost?

Mailivery’s public pricing information gives a Starter price of $29/month. It does not state the mailbox limit or billing unit on the pricing page we checked. For that reason, you should not multiply Mailivery by 5 or 20 mailboxes without checking the plan.

BobWork is straightforward up to 10 mailboxes. The monthly price is $0.

For 21 or more mailboxes, BobWork charges $5/month ($3 each from 10 extra, $2 each from 50 extra) for each active mailbox above 10. Extras pause without billing. Stripe bills prorated, and you can cancel any time.

Here is the practical reading. If you run 1 to 10 supported mailboxes, BobWork removes the warm-up subscription line. If you run Microsoft 365 mailboxes, Mailivery remains relevant because BobWork does not support Outlook yet.

For agencies, the cost difference can become material. A five-mailbox client account costs $0 on BobWork if the providers are supported. On Mailivery, the cost depends on what the $29 Starter plan includes. If you manage clients, compare this with our agency warm-up tool guide.

Who should stay on Mailivery?

Stay on Mailivery if you need Microsoft 365 warm-up. Outlook support is listed for Mailivery, and BobWork does not support Outlook yet.

Stay if your current results are healthy. If campaigns are sending at safe volumes, replies are steady, and spam placement is low, do not move only because another tool is free. Deliverability work rewards fewer uncontrolled changes.

Stay if you depend on Mailivery features not visible on its public pricing page. Your account may include dashboards, workflows, reporting, support terms, or team controls that matter to your process. Confirm those details inside your account.

Stay if your team needs a paid vendor for procurement. Some teams cannot use a free tool because of finance, compliance, or vendor review rules. That is not a deliverability reason, but it is still a real operational reason.

Stay if you want one tool for Microsoft 365 now and do not want to split mailboxes by provider. Mixed teams often use Google Workspace for one brand and Microsoft 365 for another. If the team wants one warm-up vendor for every mailbox, Mailivery has the Outlook advantage.

Stay if you are in the middle of a critical campaign. Do not change warm-up tools during a launch week, investor outreach, or hiring push unless something is broken. Wait until volume is lower, then test the replacement on one mailbox first.

If you are mainly comparing free options, read free email warm-up tools with real free plans. It separates free-forever plans from trials.

How should you switch safely?

Switch one mailbox first. Do not move every sender on the same day.

The safest path is to keep volume low, verify DNS, then compare spam landings over several days. Warm-up helps build normal-looking mailbox activity, but it does not fix bad targeting, spammy copy, broken authentication, or sudden high-volume outreach.

1. Check provider fit

Confirm the mailbox provider before you cancel anything.

Use BobWork if the mailbox is Gmail, Google Workspace, Zoho Mail, Lark Mail, Yahoo Mail, iCloud Mail, Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, or standard IMAP+SMTP. Do not move Microsoft 365 mailboxes yet.

For Gmail and Google Workspace, you can use Google sign-in with the gmail.modify scope. Google shows an unverified-app notice because BobWork has not completed the CASA audit. You can also use IMAP with an app password where your Google account allows it. Google documents app passwords in its account help.

For Zoho Mail, you can connect through the Zoho Mail API using a Self Client code, including on the free plan. Zoho documents Self Client generation in its OAuth help. IMAP is also available on Mail Lite and above.

For Yahoo Mail and iCloud Mail, use IMAP with an app password. Yahoo explains app passwords in its account help, and Apple documents app-specific passwords in its Apple Account help.

2. Verify SPF, DKIM and DMARC

Check authentication before warm-up. Warm-up cannot compensate for missing DNS records.

At minimum, verify SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for the sending domain. If you recently changed DNS, wait for propagation before judging warm-up results. BobWork checks these records daily and shows them per domain.

If Gmail placement is the main problem, use the deeper Gmail spam troubleshooting guide before blaming the warm-up tool.

3. Add the mailbox

Sign in to BobWork with an email code. There is no password and no credit card.

Add the mailbox using the best connection route for the provider. For Gmail, choose Google sign-in or IMAP with an app password. For Zoho, choose the API route or IMAP where available. For SMTP platforms such as SES, SendGrid, and Mailgun, use the platform’s SMTP credentials for sending and the receiving inbox over IMAP.

If you prefer isolation, switch to a private pool in the dashboard under Mailbox pool → Pool mode. Private pool needs at least two mailboxes. If you leave the default shared network on, one mailbox is enough to start.

4. Start with a low cap

Use the default ramp unless you have a reason to change it. It starts at 3 emails per day, then adds 2 per day, with a 30/day default cap.

If you are switching from another warm-up tool, avoid overlapping high-volume schedules. Either pause Mailivery for the test mailbox or lower caps so the mailbox does not suddenly double its automated activity.

For real outreach, keep daily sending conservative. A typical safe range for cold outbound is 30–50 real outreach emails per mailbox per day after warm-up. Add mailboxes rather than forcing one sender too high.

5. Watch the first week

Watch the 7-day spam rate, health score, and received count.

BobWork defines spam rate as the share of a sender’s warm-up mail that receiving mailboxes found in Spam over 7 days. Health score runs from 0 to 100. Healthy is 85 or above, Watch is 60–84, At risk is below 60, and Blocked means login or permission failed.

Pause a mailbox for a few days if its spam rate rises above 5%. Re-check DNS, copy, targeting, and recent sending behaviour before you resume.

What should you check today?

Use this checklist before replacing Mailivery. It prevents the common mistake: switching tools while changing provider, DNS, volume, and outreach copy at the same time.

A fair switch is not only about price. Mailivery is the better choice for Microsoft 365 today. BobWork is the better choice when you have supported providers and want free warm-up for up to 10 mailboxes.

If that matches your setup, start with BobWork Email Warm-up, connect one mailbox, and let it warm for at least 14 days before you raise real outbound. For a day-by-day plan, use the email warm-up schedule guide.

Frequently asked questions