SimpleLogin vs Firefox Relay: Best Email Alias in 2026?
Choose SimpleLogin for custom domains, multiple destination mailboxes and more control over sending. Choose Firefox Relay if Mozilla's email masking fits your routine and local offer. Both forward mail into a mailbox you already maintain; neither removes that dependency. If your goal is to read low-stakes messages somewhere separate instead, consider a direct inbox such as Inboxto—but check message retention and how you will regain access before using it for account recovery.
This SimpleLogin vs Firefox Relay comparison checks official public pages on November 3, 2026. It is an editorial comparison, not a delivery-speed test, security audit or promise that a website will accept an address.
The comparison that matters: features and dependencies
An alias hides your destination address from the website receiving it. The forwarding service still has to route messages to your real mailbox. That can be exactly what you want: one familiar inbox, separate addresses for shops and newsletters, and an off switch for unwanted senders. Our email alias versus temporary email guide explains the different inbox models.
| Question | SimpleLogin | Firefox Relay |
|---|---|---|
| Free email addresses | 10 aliases on the current pricing page | Our direct page showed 5 masks; another rendered view showed 50—check your own offer |
| Paid email addresses | Unlimited aliases | Unlimited masks with email Premium |
| Reply from an alias | Included in Free | Premium; FAQ specifies replies within 3 months of receipt |
| Start a new conversation | Premium supports a reverse alias for a new contact | Do not assume reply support also permits initiating new mail |
| Domains | Premium: bring your own domains and use catch-all | Premium advertises a Relay subdomain such as yourdomain.mozmail.com |
| Destination mailbox | Free: 1; Premium: unlimited | Forwards to your true inbox; verify destination settings for your needs |
| Source and self-hosting | Open source; provider explicitly supports self-hosting | Public source; developer setup is not a promise of a turnkey hosted-service replacement |
| Price and availability | Free; Premium $36/year or $4 billed monthly | Free and paid offers vary by region; our page showed a Premium waitlist |
The SimpleLogin numbers come from its current pricing page. The Relay features and regional availability come from its official homepage. We deliberately do not declare a universal Relay free quota or dollar price: the directly fetched page and a search-rendered view disagreed. Compare the plan shown to you before paying, including billing period, taxes and whether email-only or a phone/VPN bundle is selected.
Where SimpleLogin offers more control
SimpleLogin's Free plan includes replying through aliases and one destination mailbox. That is useful if you want to try the workflow without paying first. Premium adds unlimited aliases, custom domains, multiple mailboxes and the ability to initiate a conversation using a reverse alias. These are different jobs: receiving a newsletter, replying to a shop and contacting a new person should not be treated as the same feature.
An owned domain can make a future provider change more manageable because you control its DNS. It also creates responsibilities: renew the domain, protect the registrar account and understand mail routing before changing records. It does not guarantee acceptance by every website, make you untraceable or prevent phishing. A catch-all is convenient but can also accept unwanted addresses; decide whether that convenience suits you.
The provider says its software can be self-hosted, and its public application repository documents the project. That is a meaningful option for an experienced operator, not an automatic privacy upgrade. Running mail infrastructure brings patching, backups, reputation and availability work. We did not deploy either project for this article and are not comparing their self-hosted reliability.
Choose SimpleLogin when those controls answer an actual need. If you only want a few masks for newsletters, a long feature list may not justify extra administration. For the separate-inbox trade-off, see SimpleLogin versus Inboxto.
Where Firefox Relay fits—and what to check
Relay is an understandable choice for someone already comfortable with Mozilla. It is not restricted to desktop Firefox: Mozilla says you can generate masks through the dashboard on other browsers and mobile devices. Premium includes unlimited masks, anonymous replies, promotional-email blocking and a unique Relay subdomain. That subdomain is under mozmail.com; do not confuse it with bringing a domain you independently own.
The Relay FAQ supplies important limits that a comparison grid can hide. Premium replies are supported within three months of receiving a forwarded email. Mozilla warns that adding CC or BCC when replying can expose the original address. It also states a 10 MB forwarding limit and explains that some sites do not accept masks. Read those conditions before relying on a reply for an important conversation.
Promotional-email filtering is a convenience, not a guarantee that every important message will get through. Mozilla itself cautions against using it for very important cases such as banking because a blocked message cannot be recovered. Its recommendations also distinguish marketing subscriptions from identity verification and critical correspondence.
Our Firefox Relay alternatives guide explores the separate-inbox option. Relay's public repository establishes that the code is open, but openness alone does not demonstrate that a small private deployment reproduces Mozilla's managed service. For an ordinary user, the practical questions are simpler: is Premium sold in your region, does the free allowance meet your needs, and can you keep the destination mailbox secure?
Our recovery worksheet: separate four failure points
Here is the editorial tool we use to avoid choosing solely by alias count. Fill it in for three low-stakes subscriptions before migrating anything important. This is a proposed pilot, not a test we performed, and it produces no provider score.
| Failure point | Forwarding alias: question to answer | Direct inbox: question to answer |
|---|---|---|
| Destination mailbox lost | How will I recover the destination mailbox and forwarding account? | How will I regain access to the inbox on another device? |
| Address disabled or deleted | Which website must receive a replacement address first? | Does deleting this address end future recovery mail? |
| Message no longer available | Is the message retained in my destination mailbox? | What is the normal retention period, and must I save it? |
| Subscription or provider changes | Which aliases, domains or reply features change? | Which address, storage and access features depend on a plan? |
For a concrete Inboxto pilot, its current product page lists three persistent addresses on Free, seven-day regular-message retention and five permanently saved starred messages. Assign one address to a low-value newsletter, keep another for a noncritical signup and leave the third unused as a spare. Record how you access them, star only messages worth keeping, and decide what you will do before ordinary messages expire. You do not need to consume all five saved-message slots merely because they exist.
That exercise exposes a distinction a feature checklist misses: a persistent address is not a permanently retained message, and neither proves you can recover a lost browser session. Inboxto advertises an initial no-registration experience and optional sign-in for cross-device synchronization; inspect your own access and recovery options before depending on either. We have not verified an account-recovery flow or delivery acceptance in this comparison.
Verdict: choose forwarding, or choose separation
For people who want their existing mailbox to remain the center of work, SimpleLogin and Relay are the relevant shortlist. SimpleLogin stands out when owned domains, multiple mailboxes, free replies or documented self-hosting matter. Relay fits readers who prefer Mozilla's masking workflow and can obtain the plan they need locally. Neither is the universal winner; a regional price or unneeded feature should not decide for you.
Inboxto belongs in the conversation only when you want to read messages in a separate inbox rather than forward them into a linked mailbox. Its product page advertises persistent addresses, starred-message saving and AI summaries, with plan-specific limits. These are not evidence of superior security, guaranteed recovery or SMS support. It is not a substitute for a forwarding service when sending and replying are essential requirements.
Keep banking, primary identity and indispensable account recovery on an address whose access and recovery you already trust. Start small, check actual messages and avoid deleting an address while another account still depends on it. If direct reading is the missing piece, try Inboxto with a low-stakes inbox, then use the worksheet before expanding.