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addy.io is the closest fit for people who want an open-source-oriented, standalone forwarding service with custom domains. Firefox Relay is a straightforward browser-integrated choice, although its paid tiers currently show waitlists. Fastmail Masked Email and Apple Hide My Email are convenient when you already use those ecosystems. DuckDuckGo Email Protection may suit a free, simple workflow, but its current details should be verified directly before you rely on it.
All of these tools reduce the number of websites that see your primary address. They do not make email anonymous or end-to-end encrypted by themselves, and the right choice depends on alias limits, reply support, custom-domain portability, filtering controls, and how much you want to depend on a particular provider.
What a SimpleLogin alternative actually does
An email alias, also called a mask, gives a website a forwarding address instead of your primary address. Messages sent to the alias are relayed to the underlying inbox. You can usually disable or delete that alias when a service becomes noisy, is breached, or starts sharing your address.
The practical benefit is compartmentalization. Create a different alias for a retailer, forum, app, or newsletter and you can identify which address is receiving unwanted mail. The service still handles the message traffic, so masking is not the same as keeping the contents away from every intermediary. Review the provider’s privacy policy, retention rules, and legal-accountability information before using it for sensitive correspondence.
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Replying matters as much as receiving. A receipt, warranty question, subscription cancellation, or account-recovery conversation may require you to answer from the same masked address. AP News quoted Proton chief executive Andy Yen saying, “Then the ability to reply is actually pretty important,” in the context of resolving an online-purchase problem. Check whether a service supports replies, starting a new message from an alias, or both.
Do not confuse masking with plus-addressing such as name+store@example.com. Plus-addresses remain visibly tied to your base address. As Yen told AP News, “Because people can just simply take away the plus and get your original address.” A real alias hides the base address from the recipient.
Quick comparison of the main options
| Option | Best fit | Verified features and limits | Important caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| SimpleLogin | Standalone alias management and a reference point for comparison | Free plan: 10 aliases and one mailbox. Premium: $36 per year or $4 billed monthly; unlimited aliases, custom domains and mailboxes, catch-all addresses, outbound messages from aliases, and PGP. Existing aliases continue receiving and sending after cancellation, but new aliases above the free allowance and some management controls are restricted. | Prices and feature limits can change. |
| addy.io | Open-source-minded users and people who want custom domains | Free: 10 active shared-domain aliases. Lite: $1 per month when billed yearly, one custom domain, 50 active shared aliases, and 50 anonymous replies or sends per day. Pro: $3 per month when billed yearly, 20 custom domains, and 200 daily anonymous replies or sends. | The free plan’s stated active shared-domain limit is 10. This is different from wording about “unlimited standard aliases.” |
| Firefox Relay | People who want masking integrated with a browser vendor | Official plans list five free masks. Paid tiers list unlimited masks, tracker removal, promotional-email blocking, and anonymous replies. | The current official page shows waitlists for paid tiers. Treat paid access as availability-dependent, not universally purchasable. |
| Fastmail Masked Email | Users who also want a complete email provider | Fastmail says each login can use a unique masked address. It supports use of a personal domain for portability and documents integrations with 1Password and Bitwarden. | This is a feature inside a broader email service rather than a like-for-like standalone alias subscription. |
| Apple Hide My Email | People already using Sign in with Apple or iCloud+ | Sign in with Apple creates a random forwarding address specific to an app or site and restricts forwarding to designated sender addresses. iCloud+ subscribers can change the forwarding destination. | The documented Sign in with Apple behavior is tied to accounts created through that flow; it should not be assumed to include every feature of a dedicated alias manager. |
| DuckDuckGo Email Protection | Readers seeking a simple free masking option | A 2026 secondary comparison describes unlimited @duck.com addresses and tracker stripping. |
Those details were not confirmed from an accessible official page here. Verify the current limits and processing behavior before making it your primary solution. |
addy.io: the strongest standalone alternative for many users
addy.io is the most natural alternative when your priorities are a standalone service, custom-domain support, and an open-source-oriented approach. Its published tiers let you start without paying and add domain ownership or higher sending limits as your workflow grows.
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How the tiers differ
- Free: 10 active aliases on shared domains.
- Lite: $1 per month with annual billing, one custom domain, 50 active shared aliases, and 50 anonymous replies or sends each day.
- Pro: $3 per month with annual billing, 20 custom domains, and 200 anonymous replies or sends per day.
Read the free-plan wording carefully. The page also uses “unlimited standard aliases,” but the stated active shared-domain allowance is 10. Those descriptions refer to different categories, so do not assume you can keep an unlimited number of active shared-domain addresses on the free tier.
Who should choose it
Choose addy.io if you want to use your own domain, move providers later without changing the address people contact, or keep alias management separate from your main mailbox. A custom domain requires owning the domain and adding the provider’s DNS records. That setup takes more work than clicking a browser extension, but it reduces lock-in: you can point the domain at another forwarding service if your needs change.
What to check before upgrading
- Count how many active aliases you need, rather than how many you have created historically.
- Estimate daily replies and outbound messages; the Lite and Pro limits are daily allowances.
- Confirm that your DNS host permits the required records and that you can keep the domain renewed.
- Test replies with a real service before moving purchase or support conversations to an alias.
Firefox Relay: convenient masking with availability limits
Firefox Relay is aimed at people who want aliases close to their browser workflow. The official page lists five free masks. Its paid tiers advertise unlimited masks, tracker removal, promotional-email blocking, and anonymous replies.
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The key qualification in 2026
The same official page currently displays waitlists for paid tiers. That means the feature list describes the intended paid offering, not guaranteed immediate access in every country or account. Check the sign-up screen for your region before planning around unlimited masks or anonymous replies.
When Relay is a good fit
- You mainly need a small number of masks for registrations and newsletters.
- You prefer browser-assisted creation over configuring DNS for a personal domain.
- You value controls aimed at trackers and promotional mail, provided those controls are available on your account.
If you routinely need more than five active addresses, or you need a custom domain that can outlive a provider change, compare addy.io or a provider-based option instead.
Fastmail Masked Email: an email-provider-plus-alias approach
Fastmail’s masked-address feature makes sense when you want your mailbox and aliases under one provider. Fastmail says each login can use a unique masked address, which makes one-address-per-service workflows practical without maintaining a separate forwarding account.
Portability and integrations
Fastmail documents using a personal domain, which can preserve your public address if you later change providers. It also documents integrations with the 1Password and Bitwarden password managers. Those integrations can make generating a unique address during account creation less disruptive than switching between separate dashboards.
Trade-off
You are choosing a broader email service, not just an alias relay. That can be an advantage if you want one account for mail, contacts, and masked addresses; it is less attractive if you already have a mailbox you want to keep and only need occasional forwarding.
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Apple’s documented Sign in with Apple flow creates a unique random forwarding address for each app or site. Forwarding is restricted to designated sender addresses, and iCloud+ subscribers can change where those messages are delivered.
What the feature covers
The documented behavior is tied to accounts created with Sign in with Apple. It is not evidence that every website, newsletter, or manually created alias can be managed with the same controls as a dedicated alias service. If you sign up using a normal email form, check which Hide My Email features are available through your Apple account before assuming the address will be generated automatically.
When it is the right choice
- You already use Sign in with Apple for many accounts.
- You want a random forwarding address without configuring a separate provider.
- You have iCloud+ and need the ability to change the forwarding destination.
For cross-platform teams, shared domains, or detailed per-alias controls, a standalone service may be easier to administer.
DuckDuckGo Email Protection: promising, but verify the current terms
A 2026 secondary comparison describes DuckDuckGo Email Protection as offering unlimited @duck.com addresses and stripping trackers from forwarded mail. Those claims make it an appealing free option for readers who want a low-friction mask.
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How to choose a SimpleLogin alternative
1. Start with your sending needs
If you only receive newsletters, an alias that forwards inbound mail may be enough. If you buy products, manage subscriptions, or communicate with support, require reply support. Ask two separate questions: can you reply to a message sent to the alias, and can you start a new outbound message from that alias? A service may support the first but not the second.
2. Count active aliases and the billing period
Compare the number of addresses you need now with the provider’s active limit. Also note whether a price is monthly, annual, promotional, or a one-time allowance. addy.io’s $1 and $3 figures are monthly prices when billed yearly; SimpleLogin’s $36 figure is annual, while $4 is billed monthly. These are provider-published terms and may change.
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3. Decide whether a custom domain is worth the setup
A personal domain can preserve your addresses when you change forwarding providers. It requires domain ownership, DNS changes, renewal payments, and a plan that supports the number of domains you intend to use. If you do not want DNS administration, shared-domain masks are simpler but more dependent on the provider’s domain and policies.
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Browser-integrated masking is convenient for sign-ups made on one computer. A provider-level solution is usually easier when you switch browsers, phones, or mail clients. Apple’s option is most frictionless inside Apple account flows; Fastmail’s option is designed to live alongside a complete mailbox; standalone services are generally more portable across ecosystems.
5. Compare filtering and shutdown controls
Look for the ability to disable one alias without closing your account, block incoming messages, remove trackers, or separate promotional mail. Mozilla lists tracker removal and promotional-email blocking for Relay’s paid tiers. addy.io lists anonymous reply and send allowances. Verify which controls are available on the exact plan you can obtain.
6. Read the privacy and retention policy
A forwarding provider receives or processes messages in transit. Check what metadata is logged, how long it is retained, whether messages are scanned, and how legal requests are handled. AP News quoted Andy Yen advising users to look for proper terms, a privacy policy, and legal accountability. No alias service should be described as automatically anonymous or end-to-end encrypted merely because it hides your address.
Setting up aliases safely
- Choose a naming rule. Use a distinct alias per service, such as a generated random address or a label that does not reveal your primary mailbox. Avoid putting your full name or birth year into an alias when the recipient does not need it.
- Create the alias before registering. Confirm that the forwarding destination is correct and that you can see a test message in your real inbox.
- Register with the alias. Use the mask for the website, app, or mailing list instead of your primary address.
- Test a reply. Send a reply to the service’s confirmation or support message. Check the From address shown to the recipient and verify that the response returns to the same conversation.
- Record the relationship. Store the alias with the account entry in your password manager. This prevents confusion when a site asks for the email used at sign-up.
- Disable selectively. If one alias starts receiving spam or suspicious mail, turn off that alias rather than abandoning your entire mailbox.
- Protect recovery paths. Keep your primary mailbox secure with a strong, unique password and multifactor authentication. An alias does not protect an account if an attacker can access the underlying inbox.
Custom-domain setup: what changes
Using a personal domain makes an alias independent of a provider’s shared domain. The general process is:
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- Register or use a domain that you control.
- Open the forwarding provider’s domain-setup screen and copy its required DNS records exactly.
- Add those records at your DNS host, preserving any existing records needed for your website or other mail service.
- Wait for DNS changes to propagate, then complete the provider’s verification step.
- Create a test alias and send messages from an unrelated account.
- Test both inbound delivery and replies before using the domain for purchases or account recovery.
Keep the domain registration current. If it expires, the alias addresses can stop working even though the forwarding account itself remains active.
Common problems and fixes
A confirmation email never arrives
- Check the provider dashboard for a disabled or paused alias.
- Confirm that the destination mailbox has storage available and is not rejecting forwarded mail.
- Look in spam, quarantine, and promotional folders.
- Ask the sender to resend after verifying the alias character by character.
The website rejects the alias
Some services block known forwarding domains or require an address from a corporate or educational domain. Try another alias on the same provider, use a custom domain if your plan supports it, or contact the site’s support team. Do not expose your primary address automatically just because a form rejects a mask.
Replies go to the wrong place
Check the alias’s reply-to behavior and the From address in your mail client. Some systems require replying directly to the forwarded message rather than composing a new message. If starting a new message is unsupported, use the service’s documented anonymous-send function or another alias provider.
Messages arrive with broken formatting or missing attachments
Forwarding can alter headers, tracking pixels, and attachment handling. For an important purchase or legal exchange, test the alias first and keep the provider’s limits in mind. If the message is incomplete, ask the sender to resend plain text or use a different address for that one conversation.
You cancel a paid plan
Check the provider’s downgrade policy before cancelling. SimpleLogin states that existing aliases continue receiving and sending after a subscription ends, while creating new aliases above the free limit and some management options are restricted. Other providers may handle downgrades differently, so export your alias list and confirm the retention rule before changing plans.
Which option should you pick?
| Your priority | Most relevant option to investigate | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Open-source-oriented standalone forwarding and custom domains | addy.io | It publishes free and paid tiers, custom-domain support, and explicit reply/send limits. |
| A small number of browser-created masks | Firefox Relay | The official page lists five free masks and browser-vendor integration. |
| Unlimited paid masks, if available in your region | Firefox Relay paid tier | Paid plans advertise unlimited masks, but the current page shows waitlists. |
| A complete mailbox with masked addresses | Fastmail Masked Email | Masked addresses, personal-domain support, and documented password-manager integrations are part of the broader service. |
| Sign in with Apple accounts and iCloud+ | Apple Hide My Email | Apple generates a unique forwarding address for the app or site and lets iCloud+ users change the destination. |
| A free service with tracker stripping, pending verification | DuckDuckGo Email Protection | A secondary 2026 guide describes unlimited addresses and tracker stripping, but current official details should be checked. |
| Comparing against your existing alias workflow | SimpleLogin | Its published free and Premium limits provide a clear baseline for aliases, domains, mailboxes, replies, and PGP. |
Bottom line
There is no universally best SimpleLogin alternative. Pick addy.io when custom-domain portability and a standalone, open-source-oriented workflow matter most. Pick Firefox Relay for a small browser-centered setup, while treating paid access as waitlist-dependent. Choose Fastmail Masked Email or Apple Hide My Email when you already live in those ecosystems. Consider DuckDuckGo Email Protection only after confirming its current official terms. Whatever you choose, create one alias per service, test replies before relying on the address, and remember that masking protects your primary address from routine exposure—it does not by itself make the forwarded email private from the forwarding provider.
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