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Difference Between SMTP and IMAP Email Protocols

Difference between SMTP and IMAP Email Protocols by Lia Infraservices the Leaders in Email Marketing Service in Chennai. To start with, those who are familiar with frequent email correspondence would be aware of the incoming and outgoing email protocols. But you might not be aware of how the incoming (IMAP) and outgoing (SMTP) email is carried on from the server. Let us look in detail at the difference between SMTP and IMAP email protocols.



In general SMTP and IMAP are two different email protocols that facilitate transferring and access of emails from the sender, server and receiver. In this blog, you will get exposure to ways you can protect your business email and keep it safe from hackers and threats that happen on the SMTP servers

What is SMTP – Simple Mail Transfer Protocol?



SMTP is a technology that makes it easy for emails to be sent from one server to another until they get to the final destination which is the receiver’s inbox.

Let us see the workings of SMTP and why it is so important for business email.

  1. When you hit the SEND button, SMTP acts as a virtual postman, that connects machines, to drop your emails at the right location.

  2. SMTP jobs are to simply sort and send emails to deliver them at the receiver end server.

Beyond that, it is the role of IMAP and POP to deliver it at the receiver PC.

Once you hit the SEND Email from any of the platforms you have chosen for your bulk emailing needs. It will automatically connect your message to your SMTP server, and provide it with details of your email. From there the SMTP server will carry the email to the determined receiver domain. If the receiver is using the same domain as yours, the mail will be sent immediately.

If not the same domain the SMTP is reliable on IMAP to deliver your email.

What is IMAP – Internet Message Access Protocol?




If the receiver is using a different domain, the email is handed over to IMAP or POP to sort the server out and get the mail to deliver.

While SMTP is your postman for your emails, the delivery job is left for IMAP and POP. This happens when the receiver uses a different domain from that of the sender.

Let us see the

Email Protocol Mechanism in Detail:

Detailed Image Representation:




To find your email receiver server, SMTP connects to the domain name system (DNS), with the use of an IP address the receiver server is identified.

Once this process is verified, your email is passed down to IMAP and POP, their responsibility will be to deliver your email to the different servers.

While the job for sorting out the emails lays with the SMTP server, the more intricate duty of delivery of the email is left for IMAP or POP

Thus the system works in harmony. Gets your emails delivered fast in seconds unless the email address is spam or incorrect.

The difference between SMTP and IMAP Email Protocols:




Closing Thoughts:

Overall, an email protocol is a set of rules to be followed to communicate between 2 or more electrical devices. SMTP and IMAP are both connected via Internet Protocols are required to send and receive emails safely. They act as a common email protocol between sender, email server and receiver.

Follow our blogs to know more about Free Email Marketing Tools list?

Do you know, even after sending an email, your email will stay on the mail server, which can be viewed or accessed by hackers or unauthorized persons.

Contact Lia Infraservices – The Professional Digital Marketing Company in Chennai offering authentic Email Marketing Services in Chennai, takes all your business email marketing correspondence and communications in a safe and secured way.


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