Custom-domain comparison
ArawaMail vs Fastmail: mailbox product or mailbox plus sending API?
Fastmail is a mature hosted mailbox with custom domains, aliases, catch-all, calendar, and contacts. ArawaMail is company-managed custom-domain inboxes plus a Resend-compatible transactional send API. Pick Fastmail when the job is people mail. Pick ArawaMail when the same domain also has to send receipts and resets.
Decision table
How do ArawaMail and Fastmail compare?
| Point | ArawaMail | Fastmail |
|---|---|---|
| Core job | Hosted custom-domain mailboxes plus a Resend-compatible transactional API | Mature hosted mailbox, aliases, calendar, and contacts. Not a public transactional send API |
| Mailbox experience | Folders, compose, send once outbound sending is active. IMAP 993 / SMTP 465 documented as protocol ports only | Full webmail and device clients. Strong default for people who live in email all day |
| Aliases | Shared inboxes and plus addressing documented on ArawaMail guides | Help docs: up to 600 aliases plus 15 per user. Confirm live limits |
| Catch-all | Exact mailbox, then catch-all, then discard. See catch-all guide | Wildcard / catch-all aliases on custom domains |
| Custom domains | Cloudflare zone required. Free 1 / Pro 10 / Business 50 domains | Custom domains need a non-Basic Fastmail admin. Business Basic is listed without custom domain; Business Standard is the cheapest business custom-domain SKU on the live table |
| Transactional API | Yes — Resend-compatible send API and Mailgun-compatible path | No Resend-style public sending API. Do not invent one |
| Forwarding | Destinations Free 1 / Pro 5 / Business 10; 24-hour verification; forwarded copies count toward transactional allowance | Forwarding and aliases inside the mailbox product |
| Calendar and contacts | Listed on the public pricing table | Documented first-class calendar and contacts |
| Storage and retention | Mailbox 1 / 10 / 50 GB. Inbox stays until deleted. Transactional records 45 / 60 / 90 days | Business Standard 60 GB; Professional 150 GB on the Sep 2026 public table. Verify currency and market |
| Price shape | Workspace plans $0 / $20 / $80 with included send caps | Per-user. Business Standard about $6/user/mo monthly ($5 annual). Individual and family plans also advertise custom domains — re-check fastmail.com/pricing |
| Best fit | Same domain needs staff@ and app mail | Teams that want a polished mailbox and will buy sending separately |
Verdict: Fastmail wins as a standalone mailbox. ArawaMail wins when transactional sending must live next to those mailboxes. Do not collapse the two jobs.
Facts reviewed 16 September 2026. Sources: ArawaMail pricing, catch-all inboxes, aliases and shared inboxes, what email actually costs, Fastmail Help on custom domains, and fastmail.com/pricing.
ArawaMail vs Fastmail FAQ
Questions teams ask before switching domains.
Does Fastmail Basic include custom domains?
Fastmail Help says custom-domain use needs at least one administrator on a non-Basic subscription. On the live business table, Business Basic is the no-custom-domain SKU; Business Standard is the cheapest business custom-domain tier. Re-check fastmail.com/pricing for your market.
Which is better for ordinary custom-domain mailbox hosting?
Fastmail, if the only job is people mail, aliases, calendar, and contacts. ArawaMail is the better single vendor when receipts and password resets must share that domain.
Does Fastmail offer a transactional sending API?
Not a Resend-style public sending API. Do not treat Fastmail SMTP as a documented product-email platform equivalent to ArawaMail Send Email.
How do catch-all and aliases differ?
Fastmail documents large alias pools and wildcard aliases on custom domains. ArawaMail receiving order is exact mailbox, then catch-all, then discard. Forwarded ArawaMail copies count toward the transactional allowance.
Why does ArawaMail require Cloudflare?
Domain onboarding publishes mail records on a matching Cloudflare zone. That is a real constraint if the zone cannot move.
How should we compare price?
Fastmail is per user. ArawaMail is a workspace plan that already includes send volume. Walk both numbers in the cost article rather than comparing a seat to a thousand-message stamp.
Start free
Host the mailbox and the sending API on one domain.
Connect a Cloudflare zone, create billing@, and send the first product email on the Free plan (3,000 sends, 1 GB mailbox).
Create your ArawaMail workspace