SMTP vs. POP3

Main Difference

The main difference between SMTP and POP3 is that SMTP is a message transfer protocol that is used for sending messages, and POP3 is a message receiver protocol which is used for receiving the messages.

Difference Between SMTP and POP3

Comparison Chart

SMTP vs. POP3

The complete form of SMTP is the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, whereas POP3 stands for Post Office Protocol, but it is version 3. SMTP is a protocol that is used for sending messages, while POP3 is a protocol that is used for receiving messages. SMTP transfers messages from the client computer to the recipient’s mail server while POP3 is used to receive emails from the mailbox.

SMTP is known as the push protocol; on the other side, POP3 is known as the pop protocol. SMTP has a different port number, which is 25 whereas, the port used for POP3 has a number 110. SMTP has three phases of transmission; on the other hand, the POP3 has two modes.

SMTP implicit two times, first between transmitters and its mail server and second time among access mail server and receiver, whereas POP3 implied one time between the receiver and the receiver mail server. SMTP transfer mail from the transmitter to the receiver’s mail server, while POP3 organizes mail that comes from the mailbox, which is present on the receiver’s mail server. SMTP can be called MTA, which is a Message Transfer Agent; on the other hand, POP3 can be called MAA, which is stands for Message Access Agent.

What is SMTP?

The complete form of SMTP is the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, which is used for transferring mails. SMTP can also be called MTA which stands for a message transfer agent. It is a protocol that is used two times, first between the transmitter and its mail server and second time between the access mail server and receiver. SMTP contains two MTA first one is client MTA and the second one is server MTA. A client MTA sends mail, and the server MTA receives the mails which come from the client MTA.

SMTP is a protocol where the transmitter of mail and receiver of mail are both connected to their mail server by LAN or WAN. SMTP is used to send messages among client MTA and server MTA. The SMTP protocol is also known as a push protocol. In SMTP, the message transmits among client MTA and server MTA. There are three phases of this transmission, which are as follows: Connection establishment is the first phase of the transmission second one is Mail transfer, and the third one is Connection termination.

First of all, the connection establishes among client and server MTA, and when the connection establishes a mail exchange among one sender and various recipients. SMTP protocol transfers email messages all over the Internet. SMTP authentication is required; you have to enter your complete email address and your email password if you want to use an email server to send messages.

What is POP3?

The complete form of POP3 is Post Office Protocol version 3. It is used to receive emails from the mailbox. POP3 can also be called MAA, which is stand for Mail Access Agent. It is a protocol that is used one time among the receiver and receiver mail server. SMTP has done the delivery of mail from client MTA to the server MTA. So, there is a need to pull the message from the MTA server to the receiver as the POP3 protocol is also known as the pull protocol.

POP3 has client MAA as well as server MAA which stands for client mail access agent and server mail access agent. The client MAA works as software that is installed on the receiver data processor, while server MAA is software that is installed on the receiver’s mail server. For the reading purpose, you have to download the mail from the mailbox on the mail server. On the purpose of connection establishment, the client MAA at the receiver’s data processor sends the user name as well as password to the mailbox. The user has to retrieve mail one by one.

The POP3 protocol is a mail access protocol with version 3. The port used for POP3 has a number 110. POP3 has two modes, which are as follows the first one is keep mode, and the other one is deleted mode. The purpose of the delete mode is to delete emails from the mailbox. The purpose of keep mode is to keep mails in the mailbox.

Conclusion

SMTP is a mail transfer protocol that defines how messages are transmitted through the message transfer agent. It is used to send the mail from a transmitter data processor to the recipient’s mail server, whereas POP3 is a protocol used for receiving the mail from the receiver’s mail server to the receiver’s data processor.