Mailgun vs Twilio SendGrid

Mailgun compared with Twilio SendGrid

The two mass-market transactional APIs, now owned by Sinch and Twilio respectively, and remarkably similar in shape. Mailgun's entry pricing is cheaper at $15 for 10,000 emails, its inbound routing is more capable than SendGrid's single Inbound Parse webhook, and its validation service is better regarded. SendGrid has a marketing product in the same account, a longer ecosystem reach, and the Twilio SMS consolidation story. Both share the same criticisms about console weight and support. Pick on inbound needs and on which parent you would rather bill through.

Twilio SendGrid compared with Mailgun

The two closest competitors in the mass-market transactional API space, both now owned by large parents (Twilio and Sinch respectively). Mailgun's entry plans are cheaper at $15 for 10,000 emails, it has stronger inbound routing rules, and its email validation is well regarded. SendGrid has better marketing tooling, a longer track record, and the Twilio consolidation story. Both suffer the same criticism: heavy consoles and support that costs extra. Pick on which parent company you would rather be billed by.

Mailgun

Volume-metered on emails sent, with four tiers that differ mainly in included volume, log retention, inbound route allowance, and dedicated IP availability. Email validation is metered separately.

• Free$0
• BasicFrom $15
• Foundation$35
• Scale$90
• CustomQuoted

Modelled at this directory's three reference points, Mailgun is mid-market on price and top of the category on inbound capability. A product with 1,000 users receiving three emails each sends 3,000 a month and fits inside Basic at $15, or the free tier if the daily cap allows. Ten thousand users at three emails each is 30,000 sends, still inside Basic at $15 but far better served by Foundation at $35 for the log retention and the inbound routes. Fifty thousand users at three emails each is 150,000 sends, which is Scale at $90 plus roughly $55 of overage, about $145 a month. That sits between Resend at around $80 and Postmark at around $199 for the same volume, and it is roughly ten times Amazon SES. What separates Mailgun from the cheaper options is inbound routing with rules rather than a single webhook, and validation from the same vendor. What separates it from the more expensive ones is that Postmark keeps a year of full message content where Mailgun keeps 30 days of events. Buy Mailgun for inbound; buy something else if outbound is all you do.

Twilio SendGrid

Two products with two separate meters. The Email API is billed on monthly emails sent. Marketing Campaigns is billed on contact count with a monthly send allowance. Email Address Validation is metered separately again.

• Email API Free Trial$0
• Email API EssentialsFrom $19.95
• Email API ProFrom $89.95
• Email API PremierCustom
• Marketing Campaigns Free$0
• Marketing Campaigns BasicFrom $15
• Marketing Campaigns AdvancedFrom $60

Modelled at the volumes this directory uses, SendGrid's two meters give very different answers. On the transactional side, a product with 1,000 users receiving three emails each sends 3,000 a month and fits the free trial, then costs about $20 on Essentials once the trial ends. Ten thousand users at three emails each is 30,000 sends, still inside Essentials at around $20 to $35 depending on the volume step. Fifty thousand users at three emails each is 150,000 sends, which crosses into the higher Essentials steps or Pro, landing somewhere between roughly $35 and $90. On the marketing side, 1,000 contacts sits inside the free tier, 10,000 contacts is comfortably inside Basic near its $15 entry, and 50,000 contacts is a mid-band Basic price, still typically under what Mailchimp charges for the same list. The raw unit economics are good. What you do not get at those prices is the debugging experience, the retention, or the support that the premium providers include, and that is the trade SendGrid asks you to make.