Learn how to use MailKit to send emails in C# with full SMTP support. Our support team is always here to help you.

MailKit Send Email Without SMTP – What You Need to Know

If you’re searching for a way to MailKit send email without SMTP, here’s the straight truth: MailKit requires SMTP to send emails. However, the confusion usually arises because developers are looking for a simple way to send emails in C# without getting tangled in older System.Net.Mail complexities. MailKit offers a cleaner, more modern approach, but yes, it still uses SMTP under the hood.

So, if you’re here looking for a working solution, let’s walk through how to do it the correct way using SMTP, because that’s the only supported method. Below is a tested and easy-to-understand code sample, along with all the exact steps you need.

Sending Email with MailKit in C#

Install the required NuGet packages before starting:

• MailKit
• MimeKit

Here’s the code to get you sending emails in no time:

using System;

using MailKit.Net.Smtp;

using MailKit.Security;

using MimeKit;

class Program

{

static void Main()

{

// Create a new MimeMessage

var message = new MimeMessage();

// Set the sender and recipient addresses

message.From.Add(new MailboxAddress("Sender Name", "sender@example.com"));

message.To.Add(new MailboxAddress("Recipient Name", "recipient@example.com"));

// Set the subject and body

message.Subject = "Hello from MailKit!";

message.Body = new TextPart("plain")

{

Text = "This is the email body."

};

try

{

// Create a new SmtpClient

using (var client = new SmtpClient())

{

// Connect to the SMTP server

client.Connect("smtp.example.com", 587, SecureSocketOptions.StartTls);

// Authenticate with the server

client.Authenticate("username", "password");

// Send the message

client.Send(message);

// Disconnect from the server

client.Disconnect(true);

}

Console.WriteLine("Email sent successfully!");

}

catch (Exception ex)

{

Console.WriteLine("Failed to send email: " + ex.Message);

}

}

}

Step-by-Step Breakdown

• Create the Message

MimeMessage helps build the email by defining the sender, recipient, subject, and body content.

• Set Up SMTP Client

Use SmtpClient() from MailKit to handle the actual sending.

• Connect to SMTP Server

Use client.Connect() with your SMTP server details. The port is typically 587 (for StartTLS) or 465 (for SSL).

• Authenticate

Provide the SMTP credentials with client.Authenticate().

• Send & Disconnect

Finally, use client.Send() to dispatch your message, then disconnect cleanly with client.Disconnect(true) (example).

Why Not Without SMTP?

If you’re still hoping for a way to MailKit send email without SMTP, here’s the deal: MailKit does not support APIs like SendGrid, Mailgun, or Outlook REST directly. It does not support APIs like SendGrid, Mailgun, or Outlook REST directly. Those require HTTP-based API libraries, not MailKit.

So, every guide that claims you can MailKit send email without SMTP is either misinformed or misleading. MailKit is built to interface with SMTP servers only, just like how browsers are built to render HTML.

[If needed, Our team is available 24/7 for additional assistance.]

Conclusion

You can’t really achieve this without SMTP, because SMTP is the core protocol MailKit uses. But what you can do is use it in a clean, reliable, and efficient way using SMTP. The above code and steps are all you need. No fluff, just working C# code and straight answers.

And remember, if you’re trying to send emails using something like Gmail, Outlook, or a custom server, the process shown above works, just plug in your SMTP details.