Mailgun vs SendGrid
Two sides of the transactional email decision: transactional API and transactional + marketing. When each fits, what it costs, who moves from one to the other, and what makers who chose it say.
MailgunTransactional APIIn LovableAsk your AI about this, with this page as the source:ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗
Which fits you
Choose Mailgun if- Your app also needs to receive and parse email that users send to it
Use it whenUsers need to reply to or email into your app, and you need to route and parse those messages.
Trade-offIts dashboard and API are older and busier than newer services, and the free tier is small.
Choose SendGrid if- One vendor for both jobs at large scale.
Use it whenYou want transactional and marketing sending under one account and one dashboard.
Trade-offHeavier than a small team needs.
At a glance
| Mailgun | SendGrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Used by | 47 makers' products · 11 open-source projects | 1055 makers' products · 26 open-source projects |
| Cost at default usageemails 50k emails | $35/mo Foundation 50k | $20/mo Essentials 50k |
| Moved to it on GitHubpull requests since Oct 2024 | 11 from SendGrid | 3 from Mailgun |
| Downloads | 1.1M/wk−23% vs npm | 4.5M/wk−33% vs npm |
| Pricing | Free tier; paid plans by volume. · paid from $15/mo | 60-day free trial (100 emails/day); paid plans by volume from $19.95/month. · paid from $19.95/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Open source | No | No |
| Incidents, 90 daysfrom its status page | 12 (5 major) | 50+ |
Cost as you grow
At 1k emails Mailgun costs less ($0 vs $20); from about 25k emails SendGrid does ($20 vs $35); from about 250k emails Mailgun does ($215 vs $249). They're different kinds of tool — transactional API and transactional + marketing — so the prices don't buy the same thing.
The numbers, plan by plan
| Emails per month | Mailgun | SendGrid |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $0 Free | $20 Essentials 50k |
| 5,000 | $15 Basic | $20 Essentials 50k |
| 10,000 | $15 Basic | $20 Essentials 50k |
| 25,000 | $35 Foundation 50k | $20 Essentials 50k |
| 50,000 | $35 Foundation 50k | $20 Essentials 50k |
| 100,000 | $75 Foundation 100k | $35 Essentials 100k |
| 250,000 | $215 Scale 250k | $249 Pro 300k |
| 500,000 | $400 Scale 500k | $499 Pro 700k |
| 1,000,000 | $700 Scale 750k | $799 Pro 1.5M |
| 5,000,000 | $2,250 Scale 2.5M | over plan limits |
Who moves from one to the other
Public pull requests on GitHub since Oct 2024 whose title says "Mailgun to SendGrid" or the reverse — real code changes, by developers in general rather than makers only.
SendGrid → Mailgun11 PRs- Migrate email from SendGrid to MailgunAbinashi7/helpdesk · 2026-08-02
- Switch from SendGrid to Mailgun for email deliveryran1-987/py-service · 2026-07-19
- Switch email delivery from SendGrid SMTP to Mailgun APISplitTime/OpenSplitTime · 2026-04-10
- Switch email backend from SendGrid to Mailgunrlronan/ghp-measurement · 2026-04-06
- Switch notify.py from Sendgrid API to Mailgungreenberga/uploader · 2026-01-05
- Change the mail sending implementation SendGrid to MailGundertinfo/dertinfo-api · 2025-12-07
- feat(mail): migrate from SendGrid to Mailgun, update env/config, and …Nexacore-Org/NexaFx-backend · 2025-09-27
- switch mailer from sendgrid to mailgun since free plans from sendgrid terminatedxjlin0/attendees32 · 2025-09-06
- Change SMTP email server from SendGrid to Mailgun and update Django versionFelidaeFundConservation/wildepod.org · 2025-07-31
- Switch email adapter from SendGrid to Mailgunhuddlz-hq/huddlz · 2025-07-24
Mailgun → SendGrid3 PRs- [Chore] switch from MailGun to SendGridlnflash/flash · 2025-09-15
- Feat(email): Migrate from Mailgun to SendGridauhren1992/Redsracing · 2025-09-10
- Migrate email service from Mailgun to SendGridauhren1992/Redsracing · 2025-09-08
What makers say
Makers on using it for transactional email, from Product Hunt and Starter Story interviews, each linked to the source. Products with a page of their own and fuller notes first.
On MailgunCommon integrations include: ● Payment: Stripe , Paypal ● Newsletter Sending: Mailgun ● CRM: Salesforce ● Analytics: Google Analytics and Tag Manager ● Videos: YouTube, Vimeo…
I love using Plausible for analytics, LogSnag for event tracking, NewRelic for application monitoring, MailGun for emails, Render for hosting, Stripe for billing.
MailGun is one of the best services I’ve ever used for Transactional email (like sending important emails related to a customer’s account).
On SendGrid…downside is that it’s much harder to implement than you might think! We’ve since moved to Sendgrid for delivery, which takes a lot of pain out of the process but it is expensive.…
Now for the tools, here on ADYOUNEED we use ClickUp pretty much for all the task management and sprints, Stripe for payment, Segment for tracking, and Sendgrid for emails.
…eetings, and docs Slack and Loom for internal communication Tawk.to for customer chatbots Sendgrid for mass email comms Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for social media What have been the…
Loved and watch-outs
Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises.
MailgunMost loved
- Reliable transactional email that gets a SaaS sending within days or weeks of starting. PHStarter Story
- The API is a cost-effective choice for transactional mail next to a separate marketing tool. Starter StoryPH
- Works as an SMTP relay for self-hosted servers, with a free tier for low volumes. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
Watch-outs
On Product Hunt: 5.0★, 8 reviewsSendGridMost loved
Watch-outs
On Product Hunt: 4.7★, 21 reviews · mentioned most: easy integration, scalability, transactional emails- Deliverability is poor, and its internal reputation score can look great while Gmail and Microsoft reputation tanks. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
- Since the Twilio acquisition the free plan was retired and the product feels neglected. HNHN 2HN 3
- Its network carries a lot of spam, and phishing emails that pose as SendGrid are common. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
Who uses each
Mailgun47 makers' productsUsed by both — often one replacing the other, or each for a different part of the product
Datadog
Retool
Rollbar
SentryWhat makers pair each with
With MailgunPayments
Mailgun + Stripe:Baboo TravelByteStand
crtrdgFlowChatGummySearchImagined with AILeave Me Alone
Minicart
NashraPDFShiftRepurpose PieSocialBuand 23 more
crtrdgFlowChatGummySearchImagined with AILeave Me AloneMinicartNashraPDFShiftRepurpose PieSocialBuand 23 moreMailgun + Paddle:
Amploo
MailTock
Instatus
AnnounceKit
AmplooMailTockInstatusAnnounceKitHosting
Mailgun + Amazon Web Services:AmplooMailTockPDFShiftThankbox
UXAudit.Now
Wristband
BrewButtondown
YouktiAnnounceKit
Bitbucket
Buttondownand 7 more
AmplooMailTockPDFShiftThankboxUXAudit.NowWristbandBrewButtondownYouktiAnnounceKitBitbucketButtondownand 7 more
Hookdeck
Replit
Telnyx
Linkeddit
Customer.ioWith SendGridFrontend Framework
SendGrid + Next.js:BasedLabs.ai
Chat DataData Fetcher
FinFlohHomestays with Kids
PitchwiseQuestgenRestworldRytr
SalesPortSharetribeSwift Appand 261 more
Chat DataData FetcherFinFlohHomestays with KidsPitchwiseQuestgenRestworldRytrSalesPortSharetribeSwift Appand 261 more
documenso
Appsmith
Arize PhoenixPayments
SendGrid + Stripe:
ASOAssemblyBasedLabs.ai
BricksBrokeeBrowserlessChat DataClosing CreditsClosingDealzCognotaConstructData Fetcherand 256 more
ASOAssemblyBasedLabs.aiBricksBrokeeBrowserlessChat DataClosing CreditsClosingDealzCognotaConstructData Fetcherand 256 more
InfiniDesk
ai_licia
SpreadSimpleHosting
SendGrid + Amazon Web Services:BricksFinFlohMailTockAgent-First-OrganizationBlank Street Coffee
Brev.ioButtondown
cognee
ConnectMachine
CreatifyCrustdata
D-IDand 66 more
BricksFinFlohMailTockAgent-First-OrganizationBlank Street CoffeeBrev.ioButtondowncogneeConnectMachineCreatifyCrustdataD-IDand 66 more
Rosper
Skilled Partner
DEV Community
Eternity AC
FetchSandbox
Hello Inbox
Breyta.ai
Eddie AILLM API
SendGrid + OpenAI API:Chat Data
fwd2cal
OpenspotAgent-First-Organization
Agree.comAI Game Master- Dungeon RPG
Airial Travel
Airtopalga-psa
AMA
Articos
Astra Securityand 133 more
Chat Datafwd2calOpenspotAgent-First-OrganizationAgree.comAI Game Master- Dungeon RPGAirial TravelAirtopalga-psaAMAArticosAstra Securityand 133 more
Basalt
Bebop.ai
Clarify
CoAgentor
Dart
Databox
Doraverse
Entelligence.ai
1752vc Pitch Deck Analyzer
FirstQuadrant
Genpire
GoMarble
KommunicateNeither quite right?
See the whole transactional email decision →
ResendTransactional APIA modern developer API with email templates written as React components.vs Mailgun →vs SendGrid →
PostmarkTransactional APIDeliverability when the mail has to arrive within seconds.vs Mailgun →vs SendGrid →
Amazon SESRaw infrastructureSending at high volume, where cost per email matters more than tooling.vs Mailgun →vs SendGrid →