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HELO vs MailHog: catalog facts
HELO	MailHog
Paid Sold as a paid desktop application.	Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.
macOS	Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted, Command line
Local SMTP server that catches mail before it reaches real users Automatic broken link check	Single Go binary that runs without installation Web UI and API for inspecting captured mail
Paid only Laravel Herd Pro now includes its own email testing tool, which overlaps for PHP users	Little development activity; last commit in early 2024 Intended for testing, not for delivering production mail
Downloadable app	Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.