Absolutely. SMTP through your own host is likely to result in mails ending up in SPAM folders without you even knowing it, because you have better things to do

Absolutely. SMTP through your own host is likely to result in mails ending up in SPAM folders without you even knowing it, because you have better things to do than monitor dozens of RBL listings on a daily basis. It also creates a significant business risk -- virtually all hosting providers have a zero tolerance policy for spamming, and overzealous enforcement of that could mean a few undeserved spam reports originating from your server can have your whole site shut down. I used to use SendGrid. Now I use Mandrill. They're bigger, cheaper, and I like their people.