How to Set Up Brevo SMTP in WordPress (Step by Step)

You’ve probably been there. Someone fills out your contact form. You wait for the notification email. And it never shows up. Or worse, your customer never gets their order confirmation. It’s frustrating. And it happens way more often than it should.

The problem isn’t your form plugin or WooCommerce. It’s how WordPress sends emails by default. The good news? Brevo SMTP fixes this completely. In this guide, I’ll walk you through exactly how to set up Brevo SMTP in WordPress. Every step. No guesswork.

By the end, your WordPress emails will actually reach inboxes. Let’s get into it.

Why WordPress Emails Fail and How Brevo SMTP Fixes It

Here’s something most WordPress users don’t realize. WordPress doesn’t have its own email server. When your site needs to send an email, it uses a basic PHP function called wp_mail(). This function relies on your web hosting server to send the message.

And that’s where things fall apart.

Most shared hosting servers aren’t set up for reliable email delivery. They don’t have proper authentication. They share IP addresses with thousands of other websites. Some of those websites might be sending spam. So email providers like Gmail and Outlook get suspicious. Your legitimate emails end up in spam folders. Or they don’t arrive at all.

The numbers tell the story. Default WordPress email delivery rates hover around 20-30% on shared hosting. That means most of your emails simply vanish. Password reset requests. Contact form submissions. WooCommerce order confirmations. Gone.

This is why SMTP exists.

SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. Instead of relying on your cheap hosting server, SMTP routes your emails through a dedicated email sending service. These services have proper authentication, clean IP reputations, and infrastructure built specifically for email delivery.

Brevo SMTP is one of the best options for WordPress users. Brevo (formerly called Sendinblue) runs a transactional email service with 99%+ inbox delivery rates. Emails send in under 20 seconds. And it comes with a free plan that works for most small sites.

When you connect Brevo SMTP to WordPress, every email from your site routes through Brevo’s servers. Your contact form emails arrive. Your WooCommerce receipts land in inboxes. Password resets actually work.

The setup takes about 10 minutes. And once it’s done, you don’t have to think about it again.

What You Need Before Setting Up Brevo SMTP

Before we start clicking buttons, let’s make sure you have everything ready. This saves time and prevents headaches halfway through the process.

First, you need a Brevo account.

If you don’t have one yet, you can sign up for free. The free plan gives you 300 emails per day. That’s enough for most small WordPress sites. You don’t need a credit card to start.

Second, you need a verified sender domain.

This part matters a lot for deliverability. Brevo requires you to verify your domain and set up proper email authentication. That means adding DKIM, SPF, and DMARC records to your DNS settings. Sounds technical, but Brevo walks you through it in their dashboard.

Why does this matter? These records prove to email providers that you’re allowed to send emails from your domain. Without them, your emails look suspicious. With them, inbox placement improves dramatically.

Third, you need your SMTP credentials.

This includes the server address, port number, username, and password. Here’s what Brevo uses:

• SMTP Server: smtp-relay.brevo.com
• Port: 587
• Encryption: TLS
• Username: Your Brevo account email
• Password: A generated SMTP key (not your account login password)

That SMTP key is important. You generate it inside the Brevo dashboard. It’s separate from your regular login. Keep it somewhere safe.

Fourth, you need an SMTP plugin for WordPress.

WordPress doesn’t have built-in SMTP settings. You need a plugin to configure the connection. The most popular option is WP Mail SMTP. It’s free, reliable, and works perfectly with Brevo.

Other good options include FluentSMTP, Gravity SMTP, and Brevo’s own official plugin. We’ll focus on WP Mail SMTP in this guide since it’s the most widely used.

Once you have these four things ready, the actual setup is straightforward.

How to Set Up Brevo SMTP in WordPress

Alright, let’s do this. I’ll break the process into two parts. First, we’ll grab your SMTP credentials from Brevo. Then we’ll configure the WordPress plugin to use them.

The whole thing takes about 10 minutes if you have your Brevo account ready. Maybe 15 if you need to verify your domain first. Either way, it’s not complicated.

One thing before we start. Make sure you’re logged into both your Brevo dashboard and your WordPress admin area. You’ll be switching between them a few times.

Also, I recommend opening them in separate browser tabs. It makes copying credentials easier.

Let’s start with Brevo.

Getting Your Brevo SMTP Credentials

Log into your Brevo account. Once you’re in the dashboard, look for the section labeled “SMTP & API” in the menu. This is where all your sending credentials live.

Click on it. You’ll see two main options here: API keys and SMTP settings.

For this setup, we need the SMTP credentials. But you’ll also want an API key if you plan to use advanced features like email tracking or the official Brevo plugin.

Here’s how to generate your SMTP key:

Find the SMTP section. There should be an option to generate or view your SMTP key. Click on it. Brevo will show you a password-like string of characters. This is your SMTP password.

Copy it immediately and save it somewhere secure. You’ll need it in the next step. If you lose it, you can generate a new one, but the old one stops working.

Now write down these settings:

That’s everything you need from Brevo’s side.

One more thing while you’re here. Check that your sender domain is verified. Look for “Senders & IP” or “Domain Authentication” in the Brevo menu. Your domain should show green checkmarks next to DKIM and SPF. If not, follow Brevo’s instructions to add the DNS records. This step is critical for deliverability.

Now let’s move to WordPress.

Installing and Configuring the SMTP Plugin

Open your WordPress admin dashboard. Go to Plugins > Add New. Search for “WP Mail SMTP.”

You’ll see the plugin by WPForms. It has over 3 million active installations. Click Install Now, then Activate.

Once activated, you’ll find a new menu item called “WP Mail SMTP” in your WordPress sidebar. Click on it, then click Settings.

Here’s how to configure it:

First, set your “From Email.” This should be an email address on your verified domain. Something like hello@yourdomain.com works. Make sure it matches what you verified in Brevo.

Next, set your “From Name.” This is what recipients see as the sender name. Usually your business name or website name.

Now scroll down to the “Mailer” section. You’ll see several options like Default (PHP), Gmail, SendGrid, and others. Select “Other SMTP.” This lets you enter custom SMTP settings.

Below that, you’ll see the SMTP configuration fields:

• SMTP Host: Enter smtp-relay.brevo.com
• Encryption: Select TLS
• SMTP Port: Enter 587
• Authentication: Toggle this ON
• SMTP Username: Enter your Brevo account email
• SMTP Password: Paste the SMTP key you generated earlier

Double-check everything. A single typo will cause connection failures.

Click Save Settings.

That’s it for configuration. But we’re not done yet. We need to make sure it actually works.

How to Test Your Brevo SMTP Connection

Never assume everything works just because you saved the settings. Always test. It takes 30 seconds and saves hours of troubleshooting later.

WP Mail SMTP makes testing easy. In the plugin menu, you’ll see a tab called “Email Test.” Click on it.

Enter an email address you have access to. Your personal Gmail works fine. Then click “Send Test Email.”

The plugin will attempt to send a test message through Brevo’s SMTP server. Watch what happens.

If it works: You’ll see a success message. Check the inbox of the email address you entered. The test email should be there within a few seconds. Brevo typically delivers emails in under 20 seconds.

Open the email. Make sure it’s not in spam. If it landed in the primary inbox, you’re golden. Your Brevo SMTP WordPress connection is working perfectly.

If it fails: You’ll see an error message. Don’t panic. The error usually tells you what went wrong. Common issues include wrong SMTP credentials, authentication failures, or port problems. We’ll cover fixes in the next section.

Here’s a pro tip. Send test emails to different providers. Try Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo if you can. This confirms deliverability across major email services.

You can also check the Brevo dashboard for email logs. Every email sent through your SMTP connection shows up there. You can see delivery status, opens, clicks, and bounces. This is useful for ongoing monitoring.

One more test worth doing. Go submit your own contact form. Or trigger a password reset on your site. Make sure real WordPress emails are flowing through Brevo, not just the test message.

Once everything checks out, you’re done. Your WordPress site now sends emails through Brevo’s reliable SMTP relay.

Common Brevo SMTP WordPress Issues and Fixes

Sometimes things don’t work on the first try. Here are the most common problems and how to fix them.

Authentication Failed Error

This usually means your SMTP credentials are wrong. Go back to Brevo and generate a fresh SMTP key. Then update the password field in WP Mail SMTP. Remember, you need the SMTP key, not your Brevo account login password. They’re different.

Connection Timed Out

Your hosting provider might be blocking outgoing SMTP connections on port 587. Some cheap hosts do this. Try changing the port to 465 and the encryption to SSL. If that doesn’t work, contact your host and ask them to open port 587 for SMTP traffic.

Emails Still Going to Spam

This happens when your domain authentication isn’t complete. Log into Brevo and check your domain settings. Make sure DKIM, SPF, and DMARC records are properly configured. All three should show verified status. If one is missing, add the DNS record and wait a few hours for it to propagate.

Also check your “From Email” address. It must match your verified domain. Sending from a different domain triggers spam filters.

Emails Send But Never Arrive

Check the Brevo dashboard email logs. If emails show as “sent” there but recipients don’t get them, the problem might be on the receiving end. Ask recipients to check spam and promotions folders.

If emails don’t show in Brevo logs at all, WordPress isn’t connecting properly. Revisit your WP Mail SMTP settings.

Hitting Daily Limits

The free Brevo plan allows 300 emails per day. If your site sends more than that, emails will queue or fail. You can upgrade to a paid plan starting at $9 per month for 5,000 emails. For higher volumes, consider the Business plan for dedicated IP addresses and better reputation.

Plugin Conflicts

Sometimes other plugins interfere with email sending. Deactivate other SMTP or email plugins if you have them. Only use one SMTP plugin at a time. Having multiple active causes conflicts.

Most issues come down to wrong credentials or missing domain authentication. Double-check those first before trying anything else.

FAQs About Brevo SMTP WordPress Setup