1v1 Pricing Showdown
Mailgun vs SendGrid
Side-by-side pricing breakdown for Transactional Email decision-makers
Prices in USD, verified from the United States. Regional pricing may vary.
When choosing between Mailgun and SendGrid for your transactional email stack, the right answer depends on three things: your budget, the specific features you actually use day-to-day, and your tolerance for renewal-price increases. Below we lay out the prices each vendor advertises today (verified against their live pricing pages), the plan limits that decide whether they'll fit your team, and the features that differ between them.
Mailgun starts at $15/mo; SendGrid starts at $19.95/mo. The cheaper headline price isn't always the cheaper total cost — renewal pricing, per-user fees, and overage charges can shift the math. Use the plan-by-plan tables below to model your actual spend.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| rest api | Yes | Yes |
| smtp relay | Basic+ | Yes |
| email validation | Yes | — |
| template builder | Foundation+ | — |
| inbound routes | Basic+ | — |
| saml sso | Scale | — |
| dedicated ip pools | Scale | — |
| unlimited users | Foundation+ | — |
| marketing campaigns | — | Separate product |
| dedicated ip | — | Pro+ |
| sso | — | Pro+ |
| twilio integration | — | Yes |
Affiliate links — you pay the same price
Dive Deeper
About the transactional email category
Transactional email pricing in 2026 splits along one axis: price per 1,000 emails at scale. Resend leads the aggressive pricing curve — Scale tier drops to $0.46 per 1k emails at 2.5M volume, significantly cheaper than Postmark's $1.20 or Mailgun's $1.10. Postmark wins on deliverability reputation; Resend wins on developer experience and cost at scale. SMTP2GO sits in the middle with a clean 100% SLA guarantee and a generous $10/mo Starter. For anyone sending under 10k emails/month, the differences are marginal. Above 100k/month, the per-email cost gap compounds fast.
How to choose between transactional email options
Measure your email volume first. Under 1,000/month: free tiers of SMTP2GO, Postmark, or Resend all work — pick on API preference. 10,000-100,000/month: compare Basic/Starter tiers carefully. Postmark Basic at $15/mo caps at 10k with $1.80/1k overage — the most expensive overage rate. Mailgun Basic at $15/mo is similar but with lower overage ($1.10-1.80). SMTP2GO Starter at $10/mo is the cheapest paid entry. Resend Free at 3,000 emails is the most generous free tier. Above 100k/month, Resend's Scale pricing is dramatically cheaper than competitors — worth switching for.
Building Your Business Stack?
Decision-makers comparing tools often need more than one category. Here are related comparisons:
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Mailgun cheaper than SendGrid?
- Mailgun is cheaper starting at $15/mo. Mailgun starts at $15/mo and SendGrid at $19.95/mo.
- Does Mailgun or SendGrid offer a free plan?
- Mailgun and SendGrid both offer a free plan.
- Which is better, Mailgun or SendGrid?
- Mailgun scores 8.3/10 compared to SendGrid's 7.9/10 in our analysis. Mailgun ranks higher on features and value, but SendGrid may suit specific use cases — see the feature comparison above.
- Is Mailgun cheaper than SendGrid for a team of 5?
- For a team of 5, Mailgun costs $15/mo (flat rate) and SendGrid costs $19.95/mo (flat rate). Mailgun is the cheaper option at this team size.
- Are there other transactional email alternatives besides Mailgun and SendGrid?
- Yes. Our [Transactional Email pricing comparison](/pricing/transactional-email/) page covers all major providers with daily-verified prices. You can also see the [cheapest transactional email](/pricing/transactional-email/cheapest/) for budget-focused options.