Mailgun

mailgun.com
Email Marketing
Weekend Project

Transactional Email API Service For Developers

How to Replace Mailgun

Overview

Mailgun is a cloud-based email delivery and deliverability platform that enables developers to send, track, test, and optimize emails at scale. It provides a complete email suite with industry-leading reliability, compliance, and speed, trusted by over 150,000 businesses including 8 of the 10 largest tech companies.

Features

37 features across 16 categories

API(1)

RESTful Email API

Flexible API solution to send, receive, and track emails programmatically

Accessibility(1)

ADA/EAA Compliant Emails

Send ADA and EAA compliant emails that connect with every subscriber regardless of their client or device

Also in: Justinmind, Justworks, Notion

Analytics(6)

Bounce Classification

Classify bounces to understand delivery failures and improve sender reputation

Email Logs

Review detailed email logs to track and troubleshoot email delivery issues with up to 30 days of log retention

Email Tracking & Analytics

Measure campaign success with insightful email analytics including delivery rates, open rates, and engagement metrics

Engagement-Based Email Review

Review email addresses by engagement metrics to improve email success rates

Link Tracking

Track user engagement with links in emails to measure campaign effectiveness

Message Retention

Store and retrieve message data with configurable retention periods up to 7 days

Also in: Hugging Face, Notion, Smartsheet

Automation(2)

Email Parsing

Extract data from incoming emails, enable automated processing, and integrate with other systems

Inbound Routing

Parse and simplify incoming email with inbound routes to manage and route incoming emails and data to the right place

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Content(2)

Email Templates

HTML email templates for blast, newsletter, and transactional emails with customizable options

Recipient Variables

Personalize emails with dynamic recipient variables for personalized content

Also in: Squarespace, Hunter, Notion

Core(3)

Custom Sending Domains

Configure and manage custom sending domains for your email campaigns

Email Sending

Send emails seamlessly into systems with industry-leading reliability, compliance, and speed via RESTful API and SMTP relay

SMTP Servers

Reliable SMTP infrastructure that allows sending email in seconds without managing your own SMTP servers

Deliverability(4)

Dedicated IP PoolsPremium

Access dedicated IP pools for more control over sender reputation and deliverability

Dedicated IP Warm UpPremium

Automated warm-up process for new dedicated IPs to establish positive sender reputation

Inbox Placement TestingPremium

Improve inbox placement rates so more emails land in primary inboxes

Reputation MonitoringPremium

Monitor and track sender reputation metrics available on Optimize plan

Integration(1)

Webhooks

Integrate webhooks for real-time email event notifications and data synchronization

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

List Management(3)

Email List Management

Free tool to manage and clean your email list for improved deliverability

Mailing Lists

Create and manage mailing lists for bulk email campaigns

Suppression ManagementPremium

Automated management of suppressed and bounced email addresses

Optimization(2)

Mailgun OptimizePremium

Comprehensive email deliverability suite combining applications and expertise to create a high-ROI email program

Send Time OptimizationAIPremium

Optimize email send times based on recipient behavior to increase engagement rates and send at the right time

Organization(1)

SubaccountsPremium

Create and manage subaccounts for multi-tenant or organizational structures

Performance(1)

Rapid Fire SLAsPremium

Burst sending SLA for high-volume rapid email sending

Quality Assurance(1)

Email Preview & Inspection

Preview emails before sending them to the inbox and fix common accessibility issues for compliance alignment and better email delivery

Reliability(1)

Guaranteed Uptime SLA

Service level agreement guaranteeing platform uptime and reliability

Security(5)

API Keys

Manage multiple API keys for secure API access and integration

Authentication Protocols

Support for SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI authentication protocols for email security and authentication

Multi-user Access

Add multiple users to your account at no additional cost with permissions management

SAML SSOPremium

Multi-user access with SAML Single Sign-On integration for enhanced security

User Management & Roles

Role-based access control with multiple user roles and permission management

Validation(3)

Email Validation

Remove invalid addresses and high-risk email addresses with the fastest email validation service on the market using cached send data

Email Validation API

Email validation API that integrates with ease for real-time email address validation at point of entry

List Health Preview

Preview your list health before you validate to see aggregate results

Pricing

Free

Free
  • 100 emails per day
  • Ticket support
  • RESTful email APIs and SMTP relay
  • 1 custom sending domain
  • Tracking, analytics, and webhooks
  • 2 API keys
  • Email analytics and reporting
  • 1 day log retention
  • 1 inbound route

Basic

$15/month
  • 10,000 emails per month included
  • No daily email limit
  • Monthly email overage options
  • RESTful email APIs and SMTP relay
  • 1 custom sending domain
  • Tracking, analytics, and webhooks
  • 2 API keys
  • Email analytics and reporting
  • 1 day log retention
  • 5 inbound routes

Foundation

Popular
$35/month (after free trial)
  • 50,000 emails per month included
  • Free for 1 month trial
  • Full access to RESTful email APIs and SMTP relays
  • 1,000 custom sending domains
  • Email template builder and API
  • Tracking, analytics, and webhooks
  • 5 days log retention
  • 1 day message retention
  • Full access to inbound routing
  • Email validation add-on available
  • Link tracking
  • Bounce classification

Scale

Popular
$90/month (after free trial)
  • 100,000 emails per month included
  • Free for 1 month trial
  • Everything on Foundation plus:
  • SAML SSO
  • 5,000 email validations
  • Dedicated IP pools
  • Send time optimization
  • Live phone & chat support
  • 30 days log retention
  • Up to 7 days message retention
  • Schedule and send analytics reports
  • Reputation monitoring
  • Dedicated IP warm up

Enterprise

Custom
  • Everything in Scale plan
  • Custom features
  • Deliverability Services
  • Rapid Fire Burst Sending SLA
  • Managed support

Cost Calculator

Keep Paying Mailgun

Monthly$15/mo
Yearly$180/yr
5-Year Total$900

Build It Yourself

Est. Build Time~3 hrs
Hosting$20/mo
DifficultyVery Easy

Total Cost Comparison

1 Year
SaaS
$180
DIY
$240
3 Years
SaaS
$540
DIY
$720
5 Years
SaaS
$900
DIY
$1.2k

DIY hosting estimate based on Vercel + Supabase free/pro tiers (~$20/mo). Build time estimated from 37 features at very easy complexity.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a Mailgun alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 37 features.

Buy Mailgun

Better Value
Monthly cost$150/mo
3-year total$5,400
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$24,000
Maintenance$360/mo
3-year total$36,960
Dev time~2 months

Buying Mailgun saves ~$31,560 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 37 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.