Choosing Your Lane Type
Understand when to use Relay Lanes vs IP Lanes for your email strategy. Make the right choice based on your volume, budget, and deliverability needs.
Use existing email providers
Dedicated IP addresses
On this page
Overview
Laneful offers two types of email lanes, each optimized for different use cases. Understanding the differences will help you make the right choice for your business.
Key Concepts: Lanes, Tracks & Workspaces
Lane: A distinct delivery path for your emails. Think of it like a highway lane - each one has its own capacity, speed, and characteristics.
Track: A group of multiple email lanes with a unique API key. New accounts get a "Default" track ready to use. You can create additional tracks for different types of traffic (transactional vs marketing) or migration strategies.
Workspace: The top-level container that isolates domains, templates, API keys, tracks, and analytics. New accounts automatically get a "Default" workspace.
Relay Lanes ($5/month to Laneful)
Relay Lanes send emails through your existing email provider (like Gmail) while giving you Laneful's analytics, tracking, and management features. You pay $5/month to Laneful plus any fees from your email provider.
Best For
- • Getting started quickly - Set up in minutes
- • Small to medium volume - Under 10K emails/month
- • Testing & development - Low-risk environment
- • Budget-conscious teams - Predictable $5/month cost
- • Migrating from competitors - Any volume, safe transition
Limitations
- • Provider limits apply - Gmail: 500-2K emails/day
- • Shared reputation - Affected by provider's reputation
- • Limited control - Bound by provider's policies
- • Potential delays - When provider limits are hit
Popular Relay Lane Providers
Gmail
- • Personal: 500 emails/day
- • Workspace: 2,000 emails/day
- • Easy setup with App Passwords
Other SMTP Providers
- • Various providers available
- • Different limits and pricing
- • All cost $5/month through Laneful
- • Ideal for migration from competitors
IP Lanes ($80/month)
IP Lanes provide dedicated IP addresses with up to 20 concurrent connections to inbox providers. They're optimized for high-volume delivery and complete sender reputation control.
Best For
- • Higher volume - 10K+ emails/month
- • Sender reputation control - Isolated reputation
- • Deliverability isolation - Your reputation only
- • Enterprise applications - Mission-critical email
- • Compliance requirements - Dedicated infrastructure
Key Features
- • Dedicated IP address - Your reputation only
- • AI-powered warmup - Automatic reputation building
- • 20 concurrent connections - High throughput
- • Millions of emails - Virtually unlimited capacity
- • Real-time monitoring - ISP feedback analysis
Considerations
Warmup Period: New IP addresses need 2-6 weeks to build reputation. Laneful's AI handles this automatically, but expect gradual volume increases.
Higher Cost: At $80/month, IP Lanes are more expensive than Relay Lanes. However, they become cost-effective at higher volumes.
Reputation Responsibility: You're responsible for maintaining good sending practices to preserve your IP reputation.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Here's a detailed comparison to help you choose the right lane type:
| Feature | Relay Lanes | IP Lanes |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | $5/month | $80/month |
| Setup Time | 5-10 minutes | Immediate (warmup takes weeks) |
| Volume Limits | Provider dependent (Gmail: 500-2K/day) | Millions per month |
| Sender Reputation | Shared with provider | Dedicated & isolated |
| Deliverability Control | Limited | Full control |
| ISP Connections | Provider managed | Up to 20 concurrent |
| Warmup Required | No (uses provider's reputation) | Yes (AI-automated) |
| Best Break-even Volume | < 10K emails/month | > 10K emails/month |
Decision Tree
Follow this decision tree to choose the right lane type for your situation:
📊 What's your monthly email volume?
→ Relay Lane with Gmail - Perfect for startups and small businesses. Gmail's daily limits won't be an issue at this volume.
→ Consider IP Lane - When Gmail's daily limits become restrictive or you need to isolate your deliverability reputation from other senders.
→ IP Lane - Full control over sender reputation and unlimited capacity.
🎯 What's your primary use case?
Relay Lane Scenarios
- • Testing a new product
- • Transactional emails for a small app
- • Newsletter with < 10K subscribers
- • Migrating from another ESP
- • Proof of concept development
IP Lane Scenarios
- • E-commerce with high transaction volume
- • SaaS with thousands of users
- • Marketing campaigns to large lists
- • Enterprise applications
- • Compliance-sensitive industries
Special Considerations
Gmail Workspace Limits: Personal Gmail accounts are limited to 500 emails/day, while Google Workspace accounts can send 2,000 emails/day. Factor this into your decision.
Retry Policy: When any provider (Gmail, SendGrid, etc.) hits rate limits or rejects messages, Laneful automatically retries for up to 3 days. This helps ensure delivery even with provider limitations.
Mixed Strategy: You can use both lane types in the same track. Start with a Relay Lane and add IP Lanes as you scale. Laneful will automatically route traffic appropriately.
Migration Strategy
Planning to scale from Relay Lanes to IP Lanes? Here's how to do it smoothly:
Phase 1: Start with Relay Lanes
Begin with a Relay Lane - whether you're starting small or migrating from another provider. Relay lanes work for any volume and provide a safe migration path.
Phase 2: Add IP Lanes for Migration
Add one or more IP Lanes to your track alongside your relay lane. This works for any volume - even high-volume migrations from other providers.
Phase 3: Full IP Lane Operation
After 4-6 weeks, your IP Lane will be fully warmed and handling most traffic.
Ready to Choose Your Lane?
Most developers should start with a Gmail Relay Lane. It's the fastest way to get started and you can always upgrade later.
Glossary
Key terms and concepts for understanding Laneful's email infrastructure:
Core Concepts
Workspace
The top-level container in Laneful. Each workspace isolates domains, templates, API keys, tracks, and analytics. New accounts automatically get a "Default" workspace.
Track
A track groups multiple email lanes and has a unique API key. New accounts get a "Default" track ready to use. You can configure additional tracks for different types of traffic (transactional vs marketing). When all lanes are the same type, the track load balances between them. Mixed-type tracks enable migration strategies where Laneful gradually shifts traffic from relay lanes to IP lanes during warmup.
Lane
A distinct delivery path for your emails. Relay Lanes use existing providers like Gmail, while IP Lanes provide dedicated IP addresses with up to 20 concurrent ISP connections.
Email Infrastructure
Authenticated Domains
Every domain used in the From: address must be authenticated with DNS records. This enables Laneful to send on behalf of your domain, use secure SSL email links, and track DMARC performance. You cannot send emails without domain authentication.
IP Warmup
The process of gradually building reputation for new IP addresses. Laneful's AI agent automatically manages this by analyzing bounce patterns, engagement, and ISP responses to optimize sending volume increases.
Tag
A label assigned to emails to aggregate and group statistics. Use tags to organize campaigns, track performance, and analyze email effectiveness.