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Send email from Ruby on Rails

Action Mailer is the canonical interface. Providers with a maintained Action Mailer adapter beat raw SDK use.

Sidekiq is the default for async sends. Webhook handling is straightforward with engine-style mounts.

patterns

Send patterns

  • Action Mailer with a provider gem.
  • Sidekiq retries on transient send failures.
  • Action Mailbox for inbound parsing.
  • Webhook controllers mounted under /webhooks.
pitfalls

Common mistakes

  • Forgetting to use deliver_later in production.
  • Adapter mismatch between dev (letter_opener) and prod.
  • Inbound webhook signature checks skipped behind Action Mailbox.

provider picks for Ruby on Rails

  1. 01

    Postmark

    Transactional

    Best-in-class Action Mailer adapter and webhook helpers.

    100/mo developer plan · $15/mo for 10,000 emails
  2. 02

    SendGrid

    Transactional Marketing

    Mature gem and docs.

    60-day free trial only (permanent free tier was removed May 2025) · $19.95/mo for 50,000 emails
  3. 03

    Mailgun

    Transactional

    Action Mailer adapter and queue-friendly.

    100/day on Foundation trial · $15/mo for 10,000 emails (Basic)
  4. 04

    Amazon SES

    Transactional

    aws-sdk-rails Action Mailer integration.

    3,000 message charges/mo free for first 12 months · $0.10 per 1,000 emails
Want a language-level SDK comparison instead? See the SDK hub.