Email API for transactional email
What is an email API?
An email API is an HTTP interface your application calls to send transactional email in code: you make one authenticated request with a recipient, a subject, and a body, and the API handles delivery, domain authentication, and bounce and complaint handling instead of your app talking SMTP directly. Orbit by Devotel's email API does that over a single POST to /api/v1/messages/email, with a domain authentication grid (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), a deliverability health view, DMARC aggregate-report ingest, and inbound parse for two-way threads. Email runs alongside SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, voice, AI agents, and a built-in contact center on one platform and one pay-as-you-go bill.
Send your first transactional email from code
One authenticated request sends an email. Authenticate with your API key in the X-API-Key header, post the recipient, subject, and body, and Orbit sends and returns a trackable message id.
curl https://api.orbit.devotel.io/api/v1/messages/email \
-H "X-API-Key: $ORBIT_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{ "to": "customer@example.com", "subject": "Your receipt", "html": "<p>Thanks for your order.</p>" }'A reply routes back to your webhook through inbound parse, in the same shape as every other channel.
What the Orbit Email API does
| Capability | What you get |
|---|---|
| Send over one HTTPS call | One authenticated POST with a recipient, a subject, and an HTML or text body sends a transactional email — no SMTP relay to configure and no mail server to run. |
| Domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) | Register a sending domain and Orbit publishes and checks the SPF and DKIM records against a live authentication grid, so mailbox providers see a properly authenticated sender rather than an unverified one. |
| Deliverability health view | See your domain's live SPF/DKIM authentication status, run a spam-score test send, and ingest DMARC aggregate (RUA) reports to catch an authentication drift before inbox placement slips. |
| Bounce, complaint & unsubscribe handling | Hard bounces, spam complaints, and one-click List-Unsubscribe clicks are suppressed automatically, so a sending domain's reputation is not carried by manual list hygiene. |
| Inbound parse for two-way threads | Route inbound replies to a webhook so a transactional thread — a support reply, a reply-to-receipt — can be picked up in the shared inbox against the same contact as every other channel. |
| One shared inbox for every channel | Email conversations land in the same inbox as SMS, WhatsApp, and RCS, so a team answers every channel in one place on one account. |
Built for transactional email
Transactional receipts & alerts
Order confirmations, password resets, invoices, and account alerts sent from your backend the moment they're triggered, with delivery tracked end to end.
One-time passcodes
Deliver a login code or verification link by email, and reach the same customer over SMS or WhatsApp from the same platform when a channel needs a fallback.
Two-way support threads
Let a customer reply to a transactional email and have inbound parse route that reply into the shared inbox against the same contact and conversation.
Orbit vs SendGrid vs Mailgun vs Amazon SES for email
| Feature | Orbit | SendGrid | Mailgun | Amazon SES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Email API essentials | ||||
| Transactional email sending API | ||||
| Domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) | ||||
| Deliverability health / inbox-placement signals | ||||
| Beyond email | ||||
| SMS, WhatsApp & RCS on the same platform | ||||
| Programmable voice + AI voice agents | ||||
| Built-in contact center (ACD, queues) | ||||
| One platform & one bill across every channel | ||||
Comparison data as of Q3 2026. Competitor feature details sourced from public vendor documentation, G2, and Gartner Peer Insights. Subject to change at the vendor's discretion. Yes Partial No
What it costs
Pay-as-you-go with no monthly platform fee — you pre-pay credits and pay only for what you send. Email is published at $1 per 1,000 emails; other channels are published per unit on the pricing page, and volume rate cards are available on request.
Email API — frequently asked
- What is an email API?
- An email API lets an application send email programmatically — transactional messages such as receipts, password resets, and alerts — instead of a person sending them by hand. A good one also handles domain authentication, bounce and complaint handling, and deliverability monitoring so more of your mail reaches the inbox rather than the spam folder.
- How do I send my first transactional email from code?
- Make a single authenticated POST to /api/v1/messages/email with the recipient, a subject, and an HTML or text body, using your API key in the X-API-Key header. You get back a trackable message id, and you can send your first email from code the same afternoon.
- Which email API has the best deliverability?
- Deliverability depends more on correct domain authentication and disciplined sending than on any single vendor. Publishing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, warming up new sending domains gradually, and keeping bounce and complaint rates low matter more than the logo on the API. Every reputable provider supports the authentication records; the difference is how clearly it surfaces deliverability health so you can act before inbox placement slips.
- Is Orbit a good email API provider?
- Yes, especially if email is one of several channels you send. Orbit sends transactional email over an API with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC domain authentication and a deliverability health view, and it runs email alongside AI voice agents, SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, and a built-in contact center on one platform and one pay-as-you-go bill. If you only need email and nothing else, a focused email specialist may be all you need.
- How much does the Orbit email API cost?
- Orbit is pay-as-you-go with no monthly platform fee: you pre-pay credits and pay only for what you send. Email is published at $1 per 1,000 emails; other channels are published per unit on the pricing page, and volume rate cards are available on request.
- Can I receive replies to a transactional email?
- Yes. Inbound parse routes a reply to your webhook, and the message also lands in the shared inbox against the same contact as every other channel, so a transactional thread can turn into a two-way conversation without a separate integration.
Explore more
Start sending over the API
Email is one channel of Orbit by Devotel — voice, SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, video, AI agents, and customer data on one platform and one pay-as-you-go bill. Start free, or talk to our team about a volume rate card.