Accept SMTP
Point your domain MX at ReceiveHQ. Mail lands on German infrastructure.
ReceiveHQ
Inbound email to webhook.
Agent-native via MCP. Hosted in Germany.
Drop-in replacement for Postmark, Mailgun, SendGrid, CloudMailin, Inbound, EmailConnect, and MailSlurp inbound — same webhook shapes your app already speaks. Or skip the webhook: connect Cursor or Claude over MCP, create a blackhole route, and read mail from the agent.
Agent-native
Sign up from Cursor or Claude in minutes
ReceiveHQ is built so agents can own the full inbound lifecycle — account, domain, MX, blackhole or webhook endpoint, and message search — over Model Context Protocol. No console required after magic-link login.
- Add the MCP server — paste the JSON into Cursor mcp.json, Claude Desktop, or any OAuth MCP client.
- Magic-link sign-in — the client opens a browser; enter your email, confirm the link, consent to mcp:read / mcp:admin.
- Blackhole first — ask the agent to run setup_inbound_domain with endpointKind: "blackhole" (no webhook URL needed).
- Point MX & read mail — set MX to mx.receivehq.com, verify, then list_messages.
Cursor / Claude MCP config
{
"mcpServers": {
"receivehq": {
"url": "https://receivehq.com/api/mcp"
}
}
}Server URL: https://receivehq.com/api/mcp · OAuth 2.1 + PKCE
How it works
MX in Germany. Out to webhook or agent.
Same inbound email processing pipeline either way — parse once in the EU, then deliver where your stack lives.
Parse MIME
Attachments, headers, plain/HTML bodies — stored with delivery evidence.
Webhook or blackhole
POST Postmark / Mailgun / CloudMailin / Inbound / EmailConnect / MailSlurp shapes to HTTPS — or store only for MCP list_messages.
Operate from agent or console
Search, resend, invite teammates, subscribe — console or MCP tools.
In-place replacement
Keep your webhook. Change the MX.
Pick the payload format your handler already expects. Point DNS at ReceiveHQ — no rewrite of your inbound parser.
Postmark
JSON with From, To, OriginalRecipient, TextBody, HtmlBody, Attachments, Headers, RawEmail, and the rest.
Mailgun / SendGrid
Multipart form fields both providers use — text/html, body-plain/body-html, envelope, attachment1 / attachment-1, and raw MIME.
CloudMailin
JSON with envelope, headers, plain, html, and base64 attachments — the normalised hash shape.
Inbound
JSON shaped like inbound.new (event email.received) — migrate from Inbound without rewriting your handler.
EmailConnect
JSON with message + envelope — the EmailConnect.eu default webhook shape.
MailSlurp
MailSlurp NEW_EMAIL-shaped JSON, with textBody, htmlBody, and attachments included so the webhook is usable without a MailSlurp API.
Full field tables: Webhook API docs → · All alternatives →
What you keep
- Existing Postmark, Mailgun, SendGrid, CloudMailin, Inbound, EmailConnect, or MailSlurp handlers
- Basic auth on your webhook URL
- Attachment content + content types
- Retry-friendly 2xx / permanent 406 semantics
What you leave
- US-centric SaaS inbound relays
- SES receipt rules + SNS + Lambda glue
- Paying outbound volume just to unlock inbound
- “Maybe-EU region” residency ambiguity
Why teams switch
Built against the usual suspects
Same job as Postmark Inbound, Amazon SES inbound, Mailgun Routes, SendGrid Inbound Parse, CloudMailin, Inbound, EmailConnect, and MailSlurp — without the residency trade-offs. Deep dives: Postmark, CloudMailin, SendGrid, Mailgun.
| Provider | Typical fit | Why EU teams leave |
|---|---|---|
| Postmark | Polished inbound → JSON webhook | US-hosted product; inbound often tied to outbound plans |
| Amazon SES | Receipt rules → S3 / SNS / Lambda | DIY plumbing; multi-service AWS blast radius |
| Mailgun / SendGrid | Inbound parse / routes | US-first compliance story; outbound-tied pricing |
| CloudMailin | Email → HTTP | Another US-leaning hop for GDPR-sensitive mail |
| Inbound | TypeScript-first inbound → webhook | US-leaning product; residency not EU-owned bare metal |
| EmailConnect | EU-hosted inbound → webhook | Smaller format ecosystem; no agent-native MCP surface |
| MailSlurp | Programmable inboxes / test automation | QA-first product; not a drop-in production inbound relay |
| ReceiveHQ | Postmark · Mailgun/SendGrid · CloudMailin · Inbound · EmailConnect · MailSlurp | Hosted in Germany · GDPR-first · MCP · €10 / 100k |
Product
Everything you need to run inbound in production
SMTP in, HTTPS or MCP out
Accept mail on your domain, parse MIME, POST to webhooks — or store for agents that call list_messages.
Six drop-in formats
Per endpoint: Postmark, Mailgun/SendGrid, CloudMailin, Inbound, EmailConnect, or MailSlurp — existing handlers keep working.
Retries that match reality
Automatic backoff (1m → 5m → 30m → 1h → 2h), per-endpoint max attempts, and HTTP 406 to permanently drop.
Activity console
Search messages, inspect deliveries, view attempt logs, open the raw .eml, and resend with To / OriginalRecipient overrides.
Blackhole endpoints
Receive and log without forwarding — status blackholed. Ideal when your agent reads inbox via MCP on day one.
Anti-spam, EU-hosted
Optional EU-hosted DNSRBLs at SMTP time, plus rule/heuristic scoring before forward — per domain, from the console or MCP.
Germany · GDPR · EU-only
Built for projects that must stay in the EU
ReceiveHQ runs on infrastructure hosted in Germany. Mail content, parse artifacts, and delivery logs stay under EU jurisdiction — designed for GDPR Article 44+ realities. See the hosting declaration, DPA, sub-processors, inbound email & GDPR guide.
- German hosting — not a US SaaS with an optional EU checkbox
- GDPR-aligned processing — inbound as a purpose-bound data pipeline
- Hardened path — TLS webhooks, optional Basic auth, CIDR-restricted SMTP ingest
- Agent-readable compliance — public DPA and hosting pages your buyers (and AIs) can cite
Pricing
Simple on purpose
€10/ month
€10 / month for up to 100,000 inbound emails, or €100 / year. Then €10 for every additional 100,000 emails. Trial free with your first 10 emails (up to 3 trial tenants), then subscribe to continue.
- 100,000 inbound emails included; €10 per additional 100,000
- Postmark, Mailgun/SendGrid, CloudMailin, Inbound, EmailConnect, and MailSlurp webhook formats
- MCP for Cursor, Claude, and other OAuth clients
- Blackhole + webhook endpoints, retries, resend, attempt logs
- German hosting & GDPR-oriented operations
FAQ
Inbound email, webhooks, and agents
- What is inbound email to webhook?
- Inbound email processing accepts SMTP mail on your domain, parses MIME, and delivers structured JSON or multipart form data to an HTTPS endpoint. ReceiveHQ does this with drop-in Postmark, Mailgun/SendGrid, CloudMailin, Inbound, EmailConnect, and MailSlurp payload shapes — hosted in Germany.
- Can AI agents set up and read inbound email?
- Yes. ReceiveHQ exposes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server at /api/mcp. Connect Cursor or Claude, sign in with a magic link, then configure domains, create blackhole or webhook endpoints, and list messages without opening the console.
- What is a blackhole endpoint?
- A blackhole endpoint receives and stores mail without forwarding to a webhook URL. Delivery status is blackholed. It is the fastest path for agents that read mail via MCP list_messages instead of HTTP callbacks.
- Is ReceiveHQ GDPR-friendly and hosted in the EU?
- ReceiveHQ hosts inbound email content and related application data in Germany on Hetzner infrastructure. Public DPA, sub-processor list, and hosting declaration are available for EU buyers.
- Can I replace Postmark, Mailgun, SendGrid, CloudMailin, Inbound, EmailConnect, or MailSlurp inbound?
- Yes. Point MX at mx.receivehq.com and pick the payload format your handler already expects. Existing webhook code keeps working — see the alternatives pages and webhook API docs.
- How much does ReceiveHQ cost?
- €10 per month or €100 per year for 100,000 inbound emails, then €10 per additional 100,000. First 10 emails per tenant are free (up to 3 trial tenants).
More depth: What is inbound email processing? · MCP inbound guide
Inbound email for agents — and for webhooks.
Connect MCP, point MX, keep your webhook contract, sleep better on residency.