Alternatives roundup

The Best Firefox Relay Alternatives in 2026, Honestly Compared

Emcognito, an email-forwarding alias service, is the best Firefox Relay alternative for most people in 2026 because the two things Relay gates - replying from a mask (Premium-only, and only within 3 months of receiving a message, per Relay's FAQ) and alias count - are open on Emcognito: unlimited aliases and replies included free, with 100 forwarded emails per month and passwordless signup. Relay remains operational but has announced no new features in 2026, and masks stay on @mozmail.com. If you already pay for Proton, SimpleLogin is the better pick; if open source matters most, choose addy.io - Emcognito is closed source.

Verified - we re-check quarterly.

The short list — ranked, with the catches included

  1. Emcognito

    Our service

    Full disclosure: Emcognito is our service, and yes, we ranked it first. Every number below is checkable, several of these tools are genuinely better fits for some people - we say which - and the comparison table has the receipts.

    Best for anyone who wants replies and unlimited aliases without paying: both are included free, with 100 forwards a month on the free tier. The catches: closed source and no custom domains.

    Free tier
    Unlimited aliases, 100 forwards/mo
    Paid from
    $2/mo
  2. SimpleLogin

    Best for Proton users: free unlimited replies and open source, though the free tier stops at 10 aliases and Premium now ships as a Proton Pass bundle.

    Free tier
    10 aliases, unlimited replies
    Paid from
    $3.00/mo billed yearly
    Visit SimpleLogin →
  3. DuckDuckGo Email Protection

    Best minimal-footprint free option: unlimited @duck.com aliases with built-in tracker stripping, but little alias management.

    Free tier
    Unlimited @duck.com aliases
    Paid from
    Free (no paid email tier)
    Visit DuckDuckGo Email Protection →
  4. addy.io

    Best open-source pick: self-hostable, unlimited standard aliases free, and custom domains available on paid plans.

    Free tier
    Unlimited standard aliases, 10MB/mo
    Paid from
    $1/mo billed yearly
    Visit addy.io →

Why people are leaving Firefox Relay

None of these are dealbreakers for everyone. They were for the people who searched this page.

  • Per Relay's own FAQ, replying from a mask requires Premium - and even then only works within 3 months of receiving the original message.
  • Relay masks live on @mozmail.com and cannot be moved, so your addresses are not portable if you ever leave.
  • Mozilla's public blog and release channels show no new Relay feature announcements in 2026, which has some users questioning long-term investment in the product.

Firefox Relay to Emcognito migration checklist

  1. Keep existing Relay masks alive for accounts that still work - there is no forced deadline.
  2. Point new signups at your new service so you stop accumulating @mozmail.com addresses.
  3. Move high-value accounts (banking, password manager recovery) one at a time and confirm password-reset delivery before retiring each mask.
  4. Migrate high-spam senders early so you can suspend them independently.

Frequently asked questions

Can you reply to emails with Firefox Relay for free?

No. Per Relay's FAQ, replies require Relay Premium, and replies only work within 3 months of receiving the message. Emcognito and SimpleLogin both include replies on their free tiers.

Is Firefox Relay still maintained in 2026?

Relay is operational, but Mozilla's public blog and release channels show no new Relay feature announcements in 2026.

Can I use my own domain with Firefox Relay?

No - masks live on @mozmail.com. To be fair, Emcognito does not offer custom domains yet either; if a custom domain is essential today, addy.io or SimpleLogin are the right picks.

Done comparing? The free tier takes about a minute.

100 forwarded emails a month at no cost, no credit card, passwordless sign-in.

Create your free aliases