AhaSend vs MailerSend (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, AhaSend and MailerSend share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan, and MailerSend starts cheaper, at $6.30 a month against $10 a month.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
AhaSend grades higher on value for money. MailerSend grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
AhaSend
EU-hosted transactional email API and SMTP relay with a free tier
MailerSend
Transactional email and SMS API from the team behind MailerLite
Which one is for you
Pick AhaSend if
- Fits if you want a flat monthly price for transactional email with unlimited domains
- Works for developers who want sandbox mode and inbound routing
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 1,000 emails a month and 1 to 7 days of logs
- Watch out: the page says dedicated IPs start on Pro, but its feature table ties IP access to 100,000 emails a month
- Skip it if you want single sign-on, dedicated IP pools or phone support, which are Max only at $80
- Watch out: the page shows prices in USD or EUR, and the listing records the USD ones
- Not for you if you want ready-made integrations, as none are listed
Pick MailerSend if
- Fits if your store or app sends receipts and text alerts in the US or Canada
- Works for teams already on MailerLite for newsletters who want app email from the same company
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan without handing over a card
- Tight if you're on Free, with 500 emails a month, 1 template and 1 day of activity data
- Not for you if you need a dedicated IP below 100,000 emails a week, as they're Enterprise only
- Tight if you text customers outside the US and Canada, where SMS isn't offered
- Watch out: the 30% nonprofit discount can't be combined with the yearly discount
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAAhaSendFair | 2.4GPAMailerSendFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$10 a month for 25,000 emails is inside the cheapest quarter of email sending tools, which starts at $10. Max is $80 for 100,000 emails, and extras are $0.50 per 1,000. | CGraded on 50,000 emails a month: Starter is $31.50 at that volume paid yearly, or $35 monthly, a bit above this category's middle. It includes 10 domains and 100 SMS. Dedicated IPs are for Enterprise only, and the yearly and nonprofit discounts don't combine. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan with 1,000 emails a month, 3 domains and 1 to 7 days of log retention, no card needed. It is a cap you will hit. | CA free plan for good: 500 emails a month, 1 domain, 1 template and 1 day of activity data. It asks for a card even though nothing is charged. There's also a 14-day trial of Professional. |
| Features | BREST API and SMTP relay, sandbox mode, local webhooks, inbound routing, a campaign builder and a management API. The listing shows no gap in the core job. | BAPI and SMTP with SDKs and an MCP server, drag-and-drop and HTML templates, inbound routing, webhooks, email verification, DMARC and blocklist monitoring, plus SMS and WhatsApp. It covers the job; dedicated IPs are Enterprise only, and Starter's DMARC is a 30-day trial. |
| Ease of use | CA web dashboard and API with no rating on record. You verify domains and wire it into your code. | CJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: SDKs from Node.js to Laravel and an SMTP relay, once a domain is verified. No rating on record. The card asked for at sign-up slows down a quick test. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with an API and no integration list on the pages read. | BWeb, with an API, SMTP and an MCP server, plus Zapier, Make, WordPress, WooCommerce, Supabase, Firebase, Laravel and Slack. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | developers sending transactional email | app email plus texts, from the MailerLite team |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: AhaSend and MailerSend. How we grade
Price against what you get
AhaSend starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. MailerSend starts at $6.30 a month and scores 2.7.
MailerSend scores higher and starts $3.70 a month lower. Of the other email sending services on the chart, 4 score higher than AhaSend for less, and none scores higher than MailerSend for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- AhaSend also covers email campaigns.
- MailerSend also covers business texting, whatsApp messaging, email verification and dMARC.
At a glance
| AhaSend | MailerSend | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month for 25,000 emails, billed monthly | $6.30 per month for 5,000 emails, billed annually ($7 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 1,000 emails a month, 3 domains, campaign builder, full Management API, 1 to 7 days of log retention and community support. | 500 emails a month, 1 domain, 1 template, 1 user, 1 webhook and 100 API requests a day. A credit card is needed to subscribe, though nothing is charged. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of the Professional plan, with no automatic subscription after |
| Web | ||
| Made by | AhaSend | MailerSend |
| Price read from | ahasend.com | mailersend.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
AhaSend
- The free plan stops at 1,000 emails a month and 1 to 7 days of log retention.
- Dedicated IPs appear from Pro, but the feature table says IP access is at 100,000 emails a month.
- Single sign-on, dedicated IP pools and phone support are limited to the Max plan.
- The page shows prices in USD or EUR; the figures here are the USD ones.
MailerSend
- The free plan sends only 500 emails a month and asks for a credit card to subscribe.
- SMS sending and phone numbers are available in the US and Canada only.
- Dedicated IPs are only for Enterprise accounts sending more than 100,000 emails a week.
- The yearly discount cannot be combined with the 30% nonprofit discount.
Key features
AhaSend
- REST API and SMTP relay
- Mail goes out through a RESTful API or an SMTP relay, with official SDKs, a command-line tool and scheduled sending.
- Sandbox mode and local webhooks
- An integration can be built without sending real email, and webhooks and inbound routes can be tested on localhost.
- Inbound email routing
- Incoming mail can be routed to an application, with signed endpoints for webhooks and inbound routes.
- Campaign builder
- A simple and a full editor, contact lists with custom fields, reusable templates, scheduling and test sends are listed, on every plan.
- Platform partner features
- Sub accounts, DNS whitelabeling, per-domain DKIM selectors and bring-your-own DKIM keys are listed for platforms that send for their customers.
MailerSend
- Email API and SMTP relay
- Send through a REST API with SDKs for Node.js, Python, Java, PHP, Go, Ruby and Laravel, or through SMTP, plus an MCP server for AI tools.
- Template builders
- Drag-and-drop, HTML and rich-text editors with dynamic templates, translations and split testing.
- Inbound email routing
- Receive emails and route their content to your app or a webhook, so replies and incoming messages can trigger actions.
- SMS and WhatsApp
- Starter and Professional include an SMS allowance for the US and Canada, with phone numbers at $2 each a month; WhatsApp is an add-on on paid plans.
- Deliverability monitoring
- DMARC monitoring for 10 domains on Professional (a 30-day trial on 1 domain for Starter), blocklist monitors, suppression lists and activity logs.
- Email verification
- Check addresses in bulk or in real time through the validation API, bought as credits on any plan.
Plans
AhaSend
Free$0
1,000 emails a month, 3 domains, campaign builder, community and best-effort support. No card needed.
Pro$10
per month for 25,000 emails, billed monthly
Flat rate with unlimited domains, dedicated IPs, 0 to 14 days of retention and email support seven days a week.
Max$80
per month for 100,000 emails, billed monthly
Adds OIDC single sign-on, dedicated IP pools, archiving to your own object storage and phone support. Extra emails $0.50 per 1,000.
MailerSend
Free$0
500 emails a month, email API and SMTP relay, drag-and-drop builder, 1 domain, 1 day of activity data.
Hobby$6.30
per month for 5,000 emails, billed annually ($7 billed monthly)
5 seats, 1 domain, 10 templates, bulk emailing and user roles. Extra emails $1.50 per 1,000.
Starter$31.50
per month for 50,000 emails, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
10 domains, 250 templates, 100 SMS, no MailerSend logo, 7 days of activity data. Extra emails $1.30 per 1,000; $68 a month at 100,000 emails.
Professional$99
per month for 50,000 emails, billed annually ($110 billed monthly)
Unlimited users, domains and templates, 150 SMS, 30 days of activity data, an account manager and deliverability advice. Extra emails $1.30 per 1,000.
EnterpriseCustom
For special requirements, including dedicated IPs for senders of more than 100,000 emails a week.
Ways to pay less
AhaSend
No public discounts listed.
MailerSend
- Annual discount
Save 10% by paying yearly
Yearly billing takes 10% off: Starter at 50,000 emails is $31.50 a month ($378 a year) instead of $35, and Professional $99 instead of $110.
- Nonprofit
30% off for nonprofits
Nonprofits get 30% off paid plans after starting a free trial and sending proof of status to support; it does not stack with yearly pricing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, AhaSend or MailerSend?
As of Nov 12, 2026, MailerSend is cheaper to start with: $6.30 a month, against $10 a month for AhaSend. AhaSend starts at $10 per month for 25,000 emails, billed monthly, and MailerSend starts at $6.30 per month for 5,000 emails, billed annually ($7 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, AhaSend or MailerSend?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both AhaSend and MailerSend have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.