Mailgun vs SendGrid

Mailgun and SendGrid are both API-first email delivery platforms, but they package things differently: Mailgun bundles sending, deliverability optimization,…

Best for Mailgun: Teams that want published, predictable tiered pricing ($15 Basic / $35 Foundation / $90 Scale) plus built-in email validation and inbound routing without adding another tool.
Best for SendGrid: Teams already using Twilio for SMS, voice, or identity that want transactional email plus a separate marketing campaigns product from the same vendor relationship.

At a Glance

 MailgunSendGrid
Primary categoryEmail MarketingEmail Marketing
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelUsage-based subscriptionUsage-based subscription tiers for the Email API, plus separate Marketing Campaigns plans
Starting priceFree (100 emails/day); paid plans from $15/monthFree plan sends up to 100 emails per day; paid Email API plans start around $19.95 per month, and Marketing Campaigns paid plans start at $15 per month
Free planYesYes
Free trialNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsWebWeb
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresNot documentedNot documented
Public APIYesYes

Key Differences

Email Validation Tooling

Mailgun: Mailgun bundles real-time and bulk email address validation as a named product ("Validate"), with an allotment included on the Scale plan.

SendGrid: The facts for SendGrid don't document a validation product or feature.

Validating addresses before sending affects deliverability and bounce rates, which is core to inbox placement.

Pricing Transparency

Mailgun: Mailgun publishes four tiered monthly prices ($0, $15, $35, $90) plus a custom Enterprise tier.

SendGrid: SendGrid's plan prices aren't published; the facts note they are "not consistently published on the current site."

Buyers evaluating cost upfront can budget with Mailgun without a sales call, while SendGrid pricing requires more research or direct contact.

Product Structure

Mailgun: Mailgun offers Send, Optimize, Validate, and Inspect as parts of one platform aimed primarily at developers sending transactional and inbound email.

SendGrid: SendGrid separates an Email API/SMTP product for developers from a Marketing Campaigns product for marketers, priced and sold separately.

Determines whether a company needs one tool for both technical and marketing sending, or two.

Vendor Ecosystem

Mailgun: Mailgun is part of Sinch's email suite alongside Mailjet and Email on Acid.

SendGrid: SendGrid is owned by Twilio and integrates with Twilio's SMS, voice, and identity verification products.

Existing platform relationships can simplify billing, support, and cross-channel integration.

Stated Sending Scale

Mailgun: Mailgun states it is used by 150,000+ businesses.

SendGrid: SendGrid states its infrastructure sends more than 200 billion emails per month.

These are different scale metrics (customer count vs. total volume) offered as proof points about reliability at scale.

Feature-by-Feature

Core Sending & Deliverability

FeatureMailgunSendGrid
Transactional email API / SMTPAvailableAvailable
Inbound email routingAvailableNot documented
Send time optimizationAvailableNot documented
Marketing campaign builder (non-developer)Not documentedAvailable

Validation & Tooling

FeatureMailgunSendGrid
Real-time / bulk email validationAvailableNot documented
Email preview / testing before sendingAvailableNot documented
Log retention tiers documentedAvailableNot documented

Pricing & Plans

FeatureMailgunSendGrid
Free planAvailableLimited
Published tiered pricingAvailableNot documented
SAML SSOAvailableNot documented
Dedicated IP poolsAvailableNot documented

Ecosystem

FeatureMailgunSendGrid
Cross-integration with SMS/voice platformNot documentedAvailable
Documented monthly send volume at scaleNot documentedAvailable
Serves both developer (API) and marketer (campaign builder) audiences from one vendorNot documentedAvailable

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Mailgun

Free — $0/month Monthly
Basic — From $15/month Monthly
Foundation — From $35/month Monthly
Scale — From $90/month Monthly
Enterprise — Custom Custom

SendGrid

Email API Free — $0 Trial
Email API Essentials — $19.95 to $29.95 per month Monthly
Email API Pro — $89.95 to $949.95 per month Monthly
Marketing Campaigns Free — $0 Monthly
Marketing Campaigns paid — From $15 per month Monthly

Pros & Cons

Mailgun

Pros

  • Mature, well-documented API with a long track record since 2010
  • Built-in email validation reduces bounce rates and protects sender reputation
  • Flexible product suite covering sending, validation, and rendering checks
  • Usage-based pricing scales predictably with sending volume
  • Backed by Sinch's broader communications infrastructure and reliability

Cons

  • Free tier is limited to 100 emails per day
  • Pricing and features have shifted since becoming part of a larger public company
  • Advanced features like SSO and dedicated IP pools require higher-cost plans
  • Primarily built for developers, with less appeal for non-technical marketers
  • Support quality on lower tiers is more limited than on Scale/Enterprise plans

SendGrid

Pros

  • Highly scalable and reliable for high-volume transactional email
  • Robust, well-documented developer API
  • Strong deliverability infrastructure including dedicated IPs and domain authentication
  • Part of the broader Twilio communications platform for combined channel workflows
  • Free tier available for testing and low-volume use

Cons

  • Pricing can escalate quickly at high sending volumes
  • Marketing automation features are less advanced than dedicated ESPs
  • Support quality can vary depending on plan tier
  • Interface is considered less polished than some newer competitors
  • Separate pricing for Email API versus Marketing Campaigns can be confusing to compare

Use Cases

Choose Mailgun: Teams that want published, predictable tiered pricing ($15 Basic / $35 Foundation / $90 Scale) plus built-in email validation and inbound routing without adding another tool.
Choose SendGrid: Teams already using Twilio for SMS, voice, or identity that want transactional email plus a separate marketing campaigns product from the same vendor relationship.
Need both: Companies that route SMS and voice through Twilio (and use SendGrid for that ecosystem tie-in) but also want Mailgun's dedicated validation and inbound-routing tooling for parts of the stack neither product documents on its own.

Mailgun

  • Transactional email for SaaS apps — Sending password resets, receipts, and account notifications reliably from an application backend.
  • Marketplace and platform notifications — Delivering order confirmations and status updates programmatically at scale.
  • Email deliverability monitoring — Using validation and inspection tools to maintain sender reputation for high-volume senders.

SendGrid

  • Transactional email for applications — Developers use SendGrid's Email API to send receipts, password resets, and account notifications reliably at scale.
  • High-volume API-based delivery — Companies with large user bases rely on SendGrid for dependable, high-throughput transactional email infrastructure.
  • Marketing newsletters via Twilio SendGrid — Marketing teams use Marketing Campaigns to design and send newsletters alongside their transactional email setup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Mailgun have a free plan?

Yes — 100 emails/day with no time limit, 1 sending domain, and 2 API keys.

Does SendGrid have a free plan?

The facts describe a free trial with no credit card required rather than a documented permanent free plan.

What does the entry-level paid plan cost for each?

Mailgun's Basic plan starts at $15/month for 10,000 emails with no daily limit; SendGrid's plan prices are not consistently published on its current site.

Does either platform include email validation?

Mailgun includes real-time and bulk validation, with an allotment on the Scale plan; SendGrid's facts don't mention a validation feature.

Who owns each company?

Mailgun is part of Sinch's email suite (with Mailjet and Email on Acid); SendGrid is owned by Twilio and integrates with Twilio's SMS, voice, and identity products.

Read the full Mailgun review · Read the full SendGrid review