Sending emails in Magento 2 is a vital process that allows you to communicate with your customers. And that's not only the marketing emails we're talking about. Transactional emails like order confirmation, invoice, and shipment are equally important. Since Magento doesn't provide a viable solution you have to configure SMTP in Magento 2. 

Fortunately, there is a simple, easy and free SMTP extension for Magento 2 provided by Magepal. 

So, here, you'll learn how to configure SMTP in Magento 2 with this solution.

To configure SMTP in Magento 2:

1. Go to Stores > Configuration > MagePal > SMTP Configuration and Enable the SMTP settings.

2. Specify the Local client name (domain or IP).

3. Select the Authentication method: LOGIN, PLAIN, CRAM-MD5, or NONE.

4. Choose the SSL Type: SSL or TLS.

Configure SMTP in Magento 2

5. Set the SMTP server settings: Host, Port, User Name, and Password.

6. Choose whether to Set Reply-To, From, and Return Path

SMTP Server Configuration Magento

Note: don't forget to save the configuration before moving to the testing part and make sure you have your store emails set up (Stores > Configuration > General > Store Email Addresses).

Magento Store Email Addresses

7. Test the Email Server Configuration Settings by sending a few emails. Specify the Email Address to send the emails to and the same where the emails should be sent From. Then Send Test Email

Test SMTP Server Settings in Magento 2

Once you send it, you should immediately get a confirmation to your email box which will be something like this:

SMTP Configuration Confirmation

So you see that to configure SMTP in Magento 2 all you need is the right tool. You can configure a wide range of SMTP providers with Magepal SMTP extension. However, if you're looking for some other features or options consider checking the best SMTP Extensions for Magento 2.