Nylas is a hosted API that apps use to connect their users' email, calendar, and contacts. It also has an MCP server, webhooks, and SDKs. Fluxmail connects agents to your own and your team's mailboxes. Fluxmail Cloud hosts it as an MCP server and REST API. You can also run it yourself, which includes a CLI.
This comparison covers Fluxmail Cloud, which we host, and self-hosted Fluxmail, which you run. Cloud doesn’t keep a copy of your mail.
Choose Fluxmail for agents working in your own or your team's mailboxes. Use Fluxmail Cloud if you don't want to run a server, or self-host to keep credentials on your infrastructure. Cloud and local self-hosted setups don't need a Google Cloud project for Gmail. Choose Nylas if your product connects many customers' accounts or needs calendar, contacts, meeting notes, or inbound webhooks.
Feature comparison
Feature
Fluxmail
Nylas
Platform
Deployment
Cloud or self-hosted
Hosted by Fluxmail, or a local process or Docker
Nylas-hosted
US or EU data region
Built for
Your own and your team's mailboxes
Apps whose customers connect their accounts
Interfaces
MCP, REST API, and CLI
The CLI is self-hosted only
REST API, SDKs, MCP, and CLI
MCP server
Cloud: hosted Streamable HTTP. Self-hosted: stdio or Streamable HTTP
OAuth sign-in or API keys in both
Hosted at mcp.us.nylas.com or mcp.eu.nylas.com
Authenticated with a Nylas API key
Webhooks
Not built in
Webhooks, Pub/Sub, or SNS
Message, delivery, and tracking events
Providers and scope
Gmail and Google Workspace
Yes
Yes
Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com
Yes, through Microsoft Graph
Yes
Other mailboxes
IMAP and SMTP
IMAP, Yahoo, iCloud, and Exchange Web Services
Nylas describes its EWS support as limited
Calendar, contacts, and meetings
Email only
Calendar, contacts, scheduler, and Notetaker
New inboxes for agents
Connects existing mailboxes
Agent Accounts on your own domain
Access, data, and cost
Gmail sign-in
Sign in with Google in Cloud
Self-hosted bundles a Google client for local setups; servers with a public callback use your own Google app
Your own Google project, or the Nylas shared app
Verification exemptions include personal-use and internal apps. Shared app needs annual Pro with Accelerator or an Enterprise add-on
Where email data goes
Through Fluxmail Cloud, or directly from your host
Cloud does not store messages or attachments
Through Nylas
Not stored for Google and Microsoft; IMAP cached for 90 days
Agent permissions
Read-only, read-write, full, or custom
Plus member and mailbox scope
IAM API keys scoped to grants and permissions
Sends need a confirmation call first
Pricing
Free self-hosted plan; Pro $15/month; Business $25/member/month
Same Pro and Business prices in Cloud and self-hosted. Annual: Pro $120; Business $240/member
Free for 5 accounts; Essentials $15/month; Pro $49/month
Essentials covers 10 accounts, then $2.25 each; Pro covers 25, then $2.00 each
A closer look
Nylas connects your customers' accounts and Fluxmail connects yours
Nylas gives a product team one API for its customers' email, calendar, and contacts. Each customer authenticates through Nylas, which creates a grant the app uses for later calls. Plans are priced per connected account, and webhooks tell the app when messages arrive or change.
Fluxmail is for people and teams who want their agents to work in mailboxes they already use. You connect your Gmail, Outlook, Exchange, or IMAP accounts in Fluxmail Cloud or on a server you run, and give each agent or script its own permissions.
Gmail setup depends on your scopes and users
With your own Google Cloud project, a Nylas integration that reads Gmail or manages drafts uses restricted scopes and needs Google verification and a security assessment. Send-only access with the gmail.send scope needs verification but no security assessment. Personal-use apps with fewer than 100 users and apps restricted to your Google Workspace organization are exempt from both.
You can also use the Nylas shared app through the Accelerator add-on on annual Pro or as an Enterprise add-on. Users then see Nylas on the consent screen.
Fluxmail Cloud connects Gmail through Fluxmail's own Google app, which has completed Google's security assessment, so you sign in with Google and approve access. Self-hosted Fluxmail includes a Google client for local setups, so you can connect Gmail from the CLI or local Docker without creating a Google Cloud project. A self-hosted server with a public callback address uses your own Google app, which only needs to cover your own mailboxes.
Nylas sits between your app and the mail provider
Nylas handles authentication and API calls on its own servers. Its documentation says v3 does not store email data for Google and Microsoft accounts, and that IMAP messages are cached for a rolling 90 days. Its MCP server also runs on Nylas servers.
Fluxmail Cloud fetches mail from the provider when an agent asks for it and does not store messages or attachments. Self-hosted Fluxmail stores provider tokens encrypted on the machine where it runs, and requests go straight from that machine to Gmail, Microsoft, or your IMAP server. Your MCP client may still send retrieved email to its model provider, and that provider's data policies apply.
Which should you choose?
Best choice
Fluxmail
Agents work in your own or your team's existing mailboxes.
You want Fluxmail to host the MCP server, or you want provider tokens on your own infrastructure.
You want to connect Gmail without a Google Cloud project.
Each agent needs its own permissions and mailbox allowlist.
A small self-hosted setup should stay free.
Nylas
You are building a product where customers connect their own accounts.
You need calendar, contacts, scheduling, or meeting notes with email.
Your app reacts to inbound mail through webhooks.
Common questions
Is Fluxmail a Nylas alternative?
For giving AI agents access to your own mailboxes, yes. Fluxmail Cloud is a hosted MCP server and REST API, and self-hosted Fluxmail adds a CLI. Neither replaces Nylas for a product that connects many customers' accounts, or for calendar, contacts, and meeting notes.
Does Nylas have an MCP server?
Yes. Nylas hosts an MCP server in the US and EU with tools for email, calendar, contacts, and Notetaker. Clients authenticate with a Nylas API key, and sending a message needs a confirmation call first. The Nylas CLI can also proxy the hosted server over stdio.
Do I need my own Google Cloud project?
With Nylas, use your own Google Cloud project or its shared app through annual Pro with Accelerator or an Enterprise add-on. With your own project, restricted scopes for reading Gmail or managing drafts need Google verification and a security assessment. Send-only access with gmail.send needs verification but no security assessment. Personal-use apps with fewer than 100 users and internal Google Workspace apps are exempt from both. Fluxmail Cloud doesn't need one, and neither does self-hosted Fluxmail's bundled Google client for local setups. A self-hosted server with a public callback address uses your own Google app, which only needs to cover your own mailboxes.
Sources
We reviewed the linked product docs on October 22, 2026.