York UK Hosting

mailRelay is the outbound SMTP relay service of York UK Hosting, a British hosting company that describes itself as "A specialist hosting provider since 2001 serving customers around the world with web and email hosting solutions, supported by our UK based technical specialists." The product sends email on behalf of applications and mail servers, in the cloud or on the premises, so the business behind them does not have to run and protect its own outbound mail infrastructure. The FAQ calls it "a managed SMTP based email service to provide fast and reliable outbound delivery of emails, developed and supported by our in-house team of email experts." It runs from two UK data centers. York UK Hosting also sells web hosting, domains and mailbox hosting; this entry covers mailRelay, its email sending service.

What a sender gets

A smarthost for existing mail flow

mailRelay is a relay, not a campaign tool. Your application or mail server writes and addresses the mail as it does today, and instead of delivering it directly from your own IP address it hands each message to mailRelay over SMTP, which delivers it onward. The page pitches it at three familiar problems: "Do you need to send large volumes of email, has the ‘free’ SMTP relay included with your Broadband provider let you down once too often, poor IP reputation? The answer is mailRelay!" The service, it says, "integrates with your existing Exchange or SMTP mail server and Cloud Hosted applications."

The platform behind it is described as a "load balanced smarthost platform," managed by the company's own team rather than an outside provider. The FAQ's case for using it is that "By harnessing our reputation for sending 'good' email you will achieve high delivery rates to your clients, whilst avoiding the need to manage a mail infrastructure to send email."

What can send through it

The compatibility list covers both sides of a typical business network. On the premises, mailRelay integrates with an Exchange server, with applications, "or even multi functional print devices," so scan-to-email copiers and office systems that send alerts can use it as well. In the cloud, the page says it is compatible with services hosted within Azure and AWS, and the FAQ adds that "mailRelay is used by many of our clients to send emails from their Azure hosted services and virtual machines."

Cloud networks often block outbound traffic on the standard SMTP port, and the service is set up for that: "Alternate port numbers provide reliable access via TCP/587 or TCP/2525 where port TCP/25 may be blocked." Configuration is a matter of pointing the server or application at the relay; because it is plain SMTP, anything that can send through a mail server can use it. The page describes SMTP access only, with no HTTP sending API.

mailRelay does not replace your mailboxes. Asked whether the company has to host them, the FAQ answers that "mailRelay compliments your existing mail flow so can work in tandem with your current mailbox hosting," and that many clients use it with domains hosted within Microsoft 365 or on on-premise Exchange servers.

Authentication, encryption and filtering

Every plan includes the same set of sending protections. DKIM signing "can be optionally enabled, allowing us to digitally sign your outbound emails to allow recipients to verify the authenticity of them." For SPF, the company offers a managed SPF "include" facility, so your domain's SPF record authorizes the relay through a single include rather than a list of addresses. TLS 1.2 and 1.3 are supported as standard, so mail travels encrypted wherever the receiving server supports it.

Outbound mail is also filtered: "Email is scanned for virus, malware and spam content before sending to assist in protecting you against threats and junk mail originating from your servers." That matters for a relay that carries mail from office devices and servers, where a compromised machine can start sending junk without anyone noticing.

Vetting and reputation

The service runs a "Zero Spam Tolerance" policy: "Client vetting and technical measures ensure we maintain a good reputation with corresponding delivery rates." In practice every order is reviewed before it goes live. The FAQ explains that "As part of our strict antispam policy we review all mailRelay orders to prevent misuse so activation is up to 1 working day, though typically it is within a few working hours." A team planning a cutover should allow for that review.

Each package carries a "Static IP Option." The FAQ gives a balanced view of whether a dedicated address is worth it: "Adding a dedicated IP to the mailRelay service can be beneficial if you have specific security requirements or send high volumes of email. However, if you send modest volumes of email a dedicated IP can hamper delivery by virtue of having a lack of track record for sending." Most smaller senders are therefore better served on the shared platform, while a business whose partners allow mail only from known addresses can take the static IP.

Plans and pricing

mailRelay is sold in four packages, and all of them include the full feature set above; the only differences are volume and bandwidth. Monthly prices are:

• mailRelay 10, £15 a month: send 10,000 emails, 10GB bandwidth
• mailRelay 25, £25 a month: send 25,000 emails, 20GB bandwidth
• mailRelay 50, £35 a month: send 50,000 emails, 30GB bandwidth
• mailRelay 100, £65 a month: send 100,000 emails, 40GB bandwidth

Every package accepts messages of up to 50MB, is SMTP compatible, is "UK Hosted & Supported," and offers the static IP option. The price table can also be switched from monthly to annual billing, with a 1-year term. The page states that "Package quotas are per calendar month during the annual term," so an annual plan still carries a monthly send allowance rather than a yearly pool.

Senders who need more have a route: "Need to send more than 100,000 emails per month? Contact us to discuss your specific requirements." The page also says you can "Scale from thousands to millions of messages per month" and upgrade quickly as the business grows. The footer notes that all prices exclude VAT where applicable.

A "30-Day Money-Back Guarantee" covers the service: "If you are not happy with mailRelay for whatever reason, we’ll refund your payment. No hassle, no risk."

Where it runs and who supports it

The page says the service is provided via "Dual Data centres located within the UK to ensure the highest levels of availability and reliability of email delivery," and describes them as "two geographically and logically separate UK data centres." Both sites are in the UK, so the relay that carries your outbound mail runs within the UK.

Support comes from the company's own staff: "No scripts, no inexperienced staff, just friendly and dependable UK based support via email." It is available through the client portal and by email, and telephone support is offered as an optional add-on.

Who it suits

mailRelay fits organizations whose email already starts in their own systems and simply needs a dependable way out. An IT team running an on-premise Exchange server, a company whose line-of-business application or website sends invoices and notifications over SMTP, a business with virtual machines on Azure or AWS that cannot send on port 25, and an office with copiers that scan to email are all the kind of sender the page describes. The flat feature set makes the choice between packages a volume decision only, the prices sit in plain pounds on the page, and the money-back guarantee lowers the cost of trying it.

It is not built for a marketing team that wants to design newsletters, manage subscriber lists or automate campaigns: mailRelay delivers what your own software composes. Developers who prefer an HTTP API over SMTP, and teams that need to go live within minutes of ordering, should factor in the SMTP-only access and the manual order review that comes before activation.