Two different email jobs
A course business needs two kinds of email, and hosts treat them differently. Mailboxes are where people read and write mail: support@, hello@, your own address. Transactional sending is what WordPress does automatically: enrolment confirmations, password resets, receipts, drip notifications.
A host can provide one, both or neither. Kinsta, for example, does not provide mailboxes but includes transactional email with daily caps. SiteGround includes mailboxes. DigitalOcean provides servers and blocks the common SMTP ports. Knowing which job each host covers tells you what to buy separately.
Mailboxes and sending by host
The table summarises what each host's own pages say. "Not stated" means the pages reviewed do not cover it.
| Host | Mailboxes at your domain | Sending from WordPress | What to budget separately |
|---|---|---|---|
| SiteGround (StartUp, GrowBig, GoGeek) | Included; unlimited accounts per domain | Sends through SiteGround's hosted mail service; see our separate guide on its sending limits | Optional transactional service for launch-day volumes |
| Kinsta | Not included: "we don't provide email as part of our hosting plans" | Transactional email via MailChannels; 150 per day on entry plans, 1,000 or 3,000 on higher tiers, shared across all sites in the plan; no DMARC alignment; non-transactional email not allowed | Mailbox provider; SMTP service if you need DMARC alignment or higher volume |
| WP Engine | Not offered on the pages reviewed; WP Engine says MX and DKIM values come from your email host, not from WP Engine | Hourly limit (number not published); port 25 blocked, use 2525, 587 or 465 | Mailbox provider and a transactional provider via an SMTP plugin |
| Liquid Web / Nexcess managed WordPress | Liquid Web's managed WordPress page does not mention email; Nexcess docs say email hosting is not included by default, with mailboxes available as an add-on or from a third party | Nexcess docs advise sending through an external SMTP service | Mailbox add-on or provider, plus SMTP service; confirm with Liquid Web which applies |
| Liquid Web managed VPS | Not listed as a plan feature; cPanel, Plesk or InterWorx panel available | Not stated | Confirm with Liquid Web before relying on server mail |
| KnownHost WordPress hosting (cPanel) | Included: "Create unlimited mailboxes with your domain", webmail included | Not stated on the plan page | Usually nothing extra for small teams |
| KnownHost web hosting | 5 accounts (Basic), 25 (Standard), unlimited (Professional, Premium) | Not stated | Upgrade if you need more than the plan count |
| DigitalOcean Droplet | No email hosting described; DigitalOcean advises against self-hosted mail servers | SMTP ports 25, 465 and 587 blocked by default | Mailbox provider and third-party email service |
Worked example: launch-day sending on a capped plan
Suppose a course launch brings 300 enrolments in a day on a Kinsta entry plan. Each student gets a WooCommerce receipt and an LMS welcome email: 600 messages, before password resets or admin notifications. Kinsta's cap for those plans is 150 transactional emails per day, shared across every site on the plan, and Kinsta says support contacts customers who exceed limits and sending can be temporarily disabled.
The same arithmetic applies to WP Engine, except the hourly limit is not published, so you cannot plan to it. On a Droplet, DigitalOcean blocks outbound SMTP ports 25, 465 and 587 by default, so plan on a third-party service from the start.
The fix is the same on all three: send WordPress mail through a dedicated transactional provider using an SMTP plugin or the provider's own plugin. WP Engine suggests WP Mail SMTP or Post SMTP for providers without their own plugin and names Mailgun, Gmail and Brevo for transactional mail.
Budgeting for mailboxes when the host has none
Kinsta recommends Google Workspace, Microsoft Outlook (Microsoft 365) or Zoho Mail and offers one-click Google MX setup in MyKinsta. Google's pricing page lists Business Starter at $7.00 per user per month, excluding tax, with 30 GB of pooled storage per user; confirm the billing term at checkout. Zoho lists a free plan for up to 5 users with 5 GB each on one domain, but without IMAP, POP or ActiveSync, so you are limited to Zoho's own apps and webmail.
For a three-person course business (founder, support, finance), Google Workspace Business Starter is $21 per month, $252 per year. Before buying a seat per address, check whether your provider lets shared addresses such as hello@ and billing@ deliver to existing users. Add the transactional service on top; many providers offer free plans for low volumes, as Kinsta notes.
- Mailbox seats: number of people who sign in, not number of addresses.
- Transactional volume: peak day during a launch, not the monthly average.
- DNS: MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for both the mailbox provider and the sending service.
- Migration: if mail currently lives on the old host, move it before cancelling the account.
Who should keep mail on the host and who should split it
Keeping mail on SiteGround or a KnownHost cPanel plan is simplest for a solo creator with low volume: one bill, one panel. The cost is coupling. If you later move the website, mail moves too, and on hosts that count email toward inode limits, a busy support mailbox uses your file quota.
Splitting mail from hosting suits anyone planning to move hosts, any team over two or three people and any site that sends more than a few dozen automated emails a day. It is effectively required on Kinsta, WP Engine and DigitalOcean, and on Nexcess managed WordPress unless you buy its mailbox add-on, so budget it from day one if you choose one of them.
Questions before you decide
Does Kinsta include email accounts?
No. Kinsta says it does not provide email as part of its hosting plans. It includes transactional email from WordPress through MailChannels with daily limits, starting at 150 emails per day on entry plans.
Does WP Engine host email?
No. WP Engine says it does not provide MX or DKIM records; those values come from your email host. WordPress mail should go through a third-party provider and an SMTP plugin.
Can I send email from a DigitalOcean Droplet?
DigitalOcean blocks SMTP ports 25, 465 and 587 on Droplets by default to prevent spam and abuse, and recommends using a third-party email service provider rather than running your own mail server.
How much does a separate mailbox cost?
Google's pricing page lists Workspace Business Starter at $7 per user per month, excluding tax. Zoho Mail has a free plan for up to 5 users on one domain, without IMAP or POP access.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- SiteGround: web hosting plans Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround KB: how many email accounts can I add Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta docs: email Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta docs: transactional email Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- WP Engine: using a third-party email provider to send mail from WordPress Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- WP Engine: platform settings Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Nexcess documentation (Liquid Web): Managed WordPress email management Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Liquid Web: managed VPS hosting Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- KnownHost: WordPress hosting Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- KnownHost: compare web hosting plans Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- DigitalOcean docs: why is SMTP blocked Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Google Workspace: pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Zoho Mail: pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround KB: fair use of server resources Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Liquid Web: Managed WordPress hosting Accessed 30 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.