MailerQ vs Mailgun (2026): which should you pick?

Pick MailerQ if

• Fits if you send millions of emails and run your own sending servers
• Makes sense if you want a console to manage IP warm-up and per-provider limits

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a hosted service, as it's software you install and run
• Pricey if you're small: €10,000 up front and €2,000 a year after
• Tight if you send a lot on Regular, which stops at 100K emails an hour and 10 domains
• Watch out: the trial length isn't stated, and the pages don't name supported operating systems

Pick Mailgun if

• Fits if your app needs to receive email and pass it on to a webhook
• Works for teams whose email data has to stay in the EU

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you're on Free or Basic, with 1 sending domain and 1 day of logs
• Not for you if you want an editor to write and send campaigns, since it's all code
• Pricey if you need a dedicated IP, which starts with Scale at $90 a month, with extra IPs at $59 each
• Watch out: inbox placement tests and reputation monitoring are a separate product, Mailgun Optimize
• Watch out: Free stops at 100 emails a day, and Basic charges $1.80 per 1,000 past 10,000

MailerQ

• It is software you install and run on your own servers; the vendor describes it as on-premise, and it uses RabbitMQ and a MySQL or PostgreSQL database.
• Prices are in euros, per instance. Updates and support are an extra yearly charge of 20% of the license fee.
• The Regular license caps sending at 100K emails per hour and 10 domains.
• The pages do not name supported operating systems.

Mailgun

• Free and Basic allow 1 sending domain and keep 1 day of logs; unlimited users and 1,000 domains start with Foundation at $35 a month.
• There is no send button: Mailgun sends through code, not a campaign editor.
• A dedicated IP comes with Scale at $90 a month; extra IPs are $59 each a month.
• Inbox placement tests and reputation monitoring are a separate product, Mailgun Optimize.

MailerQ

Management console

A web console shows delivery attempts, queues, error logs and statistics per IP, target domain or tag, and lets you change deliverability settings.

Throttling and flood patterns

Sets delivery rates for each source IP and target domain, and slows or pauses sending when a receiving server answers with rate-limit messages.

IP warm-up schedules

Throttle schedules define the sending rate to use on each day for a new IP address.

Bounce and feedback processing

Response patterns classify bounces, process feedback loops and trigger follow-up actions such as retrying or failing a delivery.

Email authentication

Supports DKIM, SPF, DMARC, TLS and ARC, according to the vendor.

REST API and injection methods

Messages can be injected in five ways, including AMQP, and a REST API can pause or cancel selected deliveries.

Mailgun

Email API and SMTP relay

Send from an app through a RESTful HTTP API or SMTP, with SDKs for Go, Node.js, PHP, Java, Ruby and Python, plus an MCP server.

Inbound routing

Receive email and forward it to your app or a webhook by rules called routes: 1 on Free, 5 on Basic and unlimited from Foundation.

Email validation

Check addresses by API or upload a whole list; Scale includes 5,000 validations and other plans pay from $1.20 per 100.

US or EU data regions

One account can send through either the US or the EU region, so message data can stay in the region you choose.

Logs, analytics and webhooks

Tracking, bounce classification and event webhooks on every plan, with log retention growing from 1 day on Free and Basic to 30 days on Scale.

Dedicated IPs

Scale includes a dedicated IP, IP pools and automated warm-up; more IPs cost $59 each a month.

MailerQ

• Regular€10,000

  one-time fee per instance

  Perpetual license: 100K emails per hour, 10 domains, management console. Updates and support cost €2,000 a year.

• Enterprise€25,000

  one-time fee per instance

  Perpetual license: unlimited emails per hour and domains, management console. Updates and support cost €5,000 a year.

Mailgun

• Free$0

  100 emails a day, 1 sending domain, 2 API keys, 1 inbound route, 1 day of log retention and ticket support.

• Basic$15

  per month for 10,000 emails

  No daily limit, 1 sending domain, 5 inbound routes, 1 day of logs. Extra emails $1.80 per 1,000.

• Foundation$35

  per month for 50,000 emails

  1,000 sending domains, unlimited users, template builder, 5 days of logs, full inbound routing. Extra emails from $1.30 per 1,000; first month free.

• Scale$90

  per month for 100,000 emails

  Dedicated IP and IP pools, SAML SSO, 5,000 validations, send-time optimization, chat and phone support, 30 days of logs. Extra emails from $1.10 per 1,000.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Everything in Scale plus custom features, deliverability services and a burst sending SLA.