I deleted the mail server from my VPS and got 1.2 GB of RAM back

Description and use

Migrating the mail server from a self‑hosted VPS to smtpfa.st freed 1.2 GB RAM, simplified email management, and provided rapid support response.

Problem

The VPS ran a self‑hosted mail server that consumed 1.14 GiB of RAM, offered no visibility into email delivery, and risked IP blocklisting when sending newsletters.

Outcome

Migrating from a self‑hosted mail server to smtpfa.st freed 1.2 GB RAM, reduced operational complexity, and provided robust email delivery visibility and rapid issue resolution.

Workflow

• 1. Added smtpfa.st SMTP settings to Django.
• 2. Configured Cloudflare DNS records for smtpfa.st.
• 3. Implemented a custom EmailBackend to add transactional headers.
• 4. Built newsletter consent sync: nightly job updates smtpfa.st contacts.
• 5. Created React Email templates, built to HTML, uploaded as hosted templates.
• 6. Used smtpfa.st REST API to schedule broadcasts, split by country/timezone.
• 7. Implemented webhook handling for unsubscribes, bounces, spam complaints with HMAC verification.
• 8. Added bounce‑handling rule: any address that bounces once is suppressed.
• 9. Reported issues to smtpfa.st; received rapid fixes and feature additions.
• 10. Removed Docker‑mailserver containers, closed firewall ports, updated SPF and MX to Cloudflare Email Routing.
• 11. Monitored RAM usage before and after removal.

Evidence

docker stats showed the mailserver using 1.14 GiB

Source

Used RAM went from 5,537 MB to 4,322 MB

Source

smtpfa.st has an SMTP relay so for Django it's only settings

Source