MailChannels vs Postmark (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, MailChannels grades higher than Postmark: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
MailChannels grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
MailChannels
Email API and SMTP relay for platforms with many downstream senders
Postmark
Transactional email API and SMTP, with broadcasts on a separate stream
Which one is for you
Pick MailChannels if
- Fits if you run a platform that sends mail for many customers
- Works for developers who want a free tier to prototype on
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want email support on a small plan, as it is listed only from 300,000 emails a month
- Tight if you stay free, because it stops at 100 emails a day with no overage
- Watch out: the page says no tier sits between the free plan and the 10,000-email paid plan
- Watch out: Outbound Filtering for hosting providers is a separate product from $99.99 a month
- Not for you if you want open and click tracking for free, as it comes with the paid plan
Pick Postmark if
- Fits if you want password resets kept on a separate stream from your newsletters
- Works for apps that need to look back at exactly what an email said weeks later
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you send 50,000 emails a month, at $55 with no yearly discount
- Skip it if you want a free plan to run a small app on, as it's 100 emails a month with no tier until 10,000
- Tight if you're on Basic, with 4 users, 5 sending domains and no inbound email
- Not for you if you want a dedicated IP below 300,000 emails a month, and each one is $50 a month on Pro or higher
- Watch out: DMARC reports are an add-on from $14 a month per domain
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAMailChannelsGood | 2.2GPAPostmarkFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$10 a month for up to 10,000 emails, the top of the category's cheaper quarter, rising to $30 at 100,000. | DGraded on 50,000 emails a month: $55 on Basic or $60.50 on Pro, billed monthly only. That's the dearest in this category at that volume, roughly twice the middle. Bootstrapped companies can ask for $75 of credit. |
| Free plan and trial | B3,000 emails a month, 100 a day, 3 domains and no overage charges, which a small project can live on, though open and click tracking need a paid plan. | CA free developer plan that never expires and needs no card, but it's 100 emails a month with no way to buy more. That's for testing an integration, not running an app. |
| Features | BA REST API and SMTP, per-tenant sub-accounts, bounce and complaint webhooks, threat filtering and approval hooks. The core sending job is covered. | BAPI and SMTP with SDKs, separate streams for app and bulk email, inbound email turned into JSON, templates, 45 days of message history and DMARC reports as an add-on from $14 a month. It covers the job; inbound needs Pro. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You verify a sending domain with DNS records and wire up SMTP credentials or an API key before the first email goes out. | CJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: official SDKs, a sandbox mode, ready-made templates for resets and receipts, and migration guides. You'll still verify a domain first. No rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web console and an API; the listing names Laravel, Symfony, Nodemailer, Django, FastAPI and cPanel. | BWeb, with an API and SMTP, plus Zapier, WordPress, Stripe, Slack, Supabase, Bubble, Netlify and Datadog. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | platforms that send mail for many customers | app email kept apart from marketing sends |
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: MailChannels and Postmark. How we grade
Price against what you get
MailChannels starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Postmark starts at $15 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and MailChannels starts $5 a month lower. Of the other email sending services on the chart, none scores higher than MailChannels for less, and none scores higher than Postmark 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
- Postmark also covers dMARC.
At a glance
| MailChannels | Postmark | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month for 10,000 emails, billed monthly | $15 per month for 10,000 emails |
| Free plan | Up to 3,000 emails a month and 100 a day, no overages, 3 domains, 30-day logs and community support. | Free developer plan: 100 emails a month with no expiry and no overages, for testing an integration or a small side project. No credit card needed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | MailChannels Corporation | ActiveCampaign, LLC |
| Price read from | mailchannels.com | postmarkapp.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
MailChannels
- The free plan has no overages and stops at 100 emails a day.
- The page says there is no tier between the free plan and the 10,000-email paid plan.
- Email support is listed only for plans of 300,000 emails a month and up; lower plans list community support.
- Outbound Filtering for hosting providers is a separate product, from $99.99 a month for 40,000 emails.
Postmark
- There is no tier between the free 100 emails a month and the 10,000-email paid plans.
- Billing is monthly only; the FAQ says annual plans are not offered yet.
- Basic has no inbound email processing and caps users at 4 and sending domains at 5.
- Dedicated IPs start at $50 a month per IP, need Pro or higher and 300,000 emails a month or more.
Key features
MailChannels
- REST API and SMTP relay
- Mail goes out through a REST API or an SMTP relay with the same controls on either path.
- Sub-account isolation
- Each tenant, workspace or AI agent gets its own sender identity, with reputation, limits and policy scoped to it.
- Bounce and complaint webhooks
- Webhooks report delivery events, including feedback-loop complaints, so a platform can retry, pause or suspend a single sender.
- Inline threat filtering
- Outbound messages are scanned for phishing, malware and known abuse patterns before they leave the network.
- Approval hooks for agents
- A human or programmatic checkpoint can be placed in the send path, which the vendor suggests for AI agents sending high-risk messages.
Postmark
- Email API and SMTP
- Send through a REST API with official SDKs or through SMTP, with batch sending, a sandbox mode and migration guides from other providers.
- Message streams
- Transactional and bulk or broadcast email run on separate sending infrastructure, so marketing sends do not affect password resets and receipts.
- Inbound email processing
- Pro and Platform turn incoming email into a JSON object and post it to a webhook URL your app handles.
- Templates
- Responsive templates for welcome emails, password resets and receipts, with a template editor and import tool.
- Message history and analytics
- 45 days of full message content by default, adjustable from 7 to 365 days, with bounce details, open and link tracking and a stats API.
- DMARC monitoring
- DMARC Digests reports show authentication problems and who is sending with your domain, sold as an add-on from $14 a month per domain.
Plans
MailChannels
Free$0
Up to 3,000 emails a month and 100 a day, REST API and SMTP, up to 3 domains and community support.
Pay as You Grow$10
per month for up to 10,000 emails, billed monthly
Adds open and click tracking and up to 1,000 domains. Price rises with volume: $30 a month at 100,000 emails, $300 at 1,000,000.
CustomCustom
For 1,500,001+ emails a month, with custom policies and domain limits. Contact sales.
Postmark
Free$0
100 emails a month, never expires; extra emails cannot be bought on this plan.
Basic$15
per month for 10,000 emails
5 sending domains, 4 users, 45 days of history, no inbound email. Extra emails $1.80 per 1,000; $55 a month at 50,000 emails.
Pro$16.50
per month for 10,000 emails
10 domains, 6 users, inbound email, retention up to 365 days. Extra emails $1.30 per 1,000; $60.50 a month at 50,000 emails.
Platform$18
per month for 10,000 emails
Unlimited domains, servers, streams and users, with inbound email. Extra emails $1.20 per 1,000; $66 a month at 50,000 emails.
High volumeCustom
Custom pricing for large senders, arranged through sales.
Ways to pay less
MailChannels
No public discounts listed.
Postmark
- Startups
$75 credit for bootstrapped companies
Companies that have launched, are charging for their product and have taken no outside investment can ask support for $75 of account credit.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, MailChannels or Postmark?
As of Nov 12, 2026, MailChannels is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $15 a month for Postmark. MailChannels starts at $10 per month for 10,000 emails, billed monthly, and Postmark starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails.
Which has a free plan, MailChannels or Postmark?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both MailChannels and Postmark 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.