MailerSend vs Mailtrap
We give MailerSend a 2.4 GPA and Mailtrap a 2.6, out of 4.0. Mailtrap grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
MailerSend
Transactional email and SMS API from the team behind MailerLite
Mailtrap
Email API and SMTP for sending, with a sandbox for testing emails
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAMailerSendFair | 2.6GPAMailtrapGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BGraded on 50,000 emails a month: Basic is $20 at that volume, in the cheaper quarter of this category, with 3 users and 5 domains. There's no yearly discount on sending, and dedicated IPs, SSO and live chat need Business at $85. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CFree for good: 4,000 emails a month, but only 150 a day, with 1 user, 1 domain and 3 days of logs, and no extra emails allowed. Handy for a side project, tight for a live app. |
| Features | 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 whole job; dedicated IPs are Enterprise only. | BAPI and SMTP with SDKs, templates, webhooks, a separate bulk stream, inbound email, analytics by mailbox provider and a sandbox for test emails. It covers the whole job, though the sandbox is a separate plan and no address validation is on record. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: SDKs for five languages and SMTP, once a domain is verified, and the sandbox lets you test without emailing anyone. No rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb, with an API, SMTP and SDKs, plus Supabase, Vercel, Claude, Cursor, Windsurf and Antigravity. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | app email plus texts, from the MailerLite team | testing and sending email from one provider |
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: MailerSend and Mailtrap. How we grade
Price against what you get
MailerSend starts at $6.30 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Mailtrap starts at $15 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and MailerSend starts $8.70 a month lower. Of the other email sending services on the chart, none scores higher than MailerSend for less, and none scores higher than Mailtrap 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
- MailerSend starts at $6.30 per month for 5,000 emails, billed annually ($7 billed monthly). Mailtrap starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails.
- MailerSend also covers business texting, whatsApp messaging, email verification and dMARC.
- Mailtrap also covers email campaigns.
At a glance
| MailerSend | Mailtrap | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $6.30 per month for 5,000 emails, billed annually ($7 billed monthly) | $15 per month for 10,000 emails |
| Free plan | 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. | 4,000 emails a month, limited to 150 a day, 1 user, 1 sending domain and 3 days of email logs, through the API or SMTP. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the Professional plan, with no automatic subscription after | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | MailerSend | Railsware |
| Price read from | mailersend.com | mailtrap.io |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
MailerSend
- Software and online stores sending receipts and notifications
- Teams that want transactional email and text messages in one tool
- Existing MailerLite customers adding app email
Mailtrap
- Developers who want testing and sending from one provider
- Small teams sending up to 4,000 emails a month for free
- Companies moving from SendGrid, Mailgun or Amazon SES
Worth knowing
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.
Mailtrap
- Basic has no dedicated IP and keeps 5 days of logs; dedicated IPs, SSO and live chat support start with Business at $85 a month.
- The free plan caps sending at 150 emails a day and allows no overage.
- Email Sandbox for testing and Email Marketing for campaigns are priced separately; marketing starts at $15 a month for 10,000 contacts.
- Overages are capped, so senders far above their plan's volume are told to upgrade.
Key features
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.
Mailtrap
- Email API and SMTP
- Send through a REST API with SDKs for Python, PHP, Ruby, Node.js and Java, or through SMTP, with hosted templates and webhooks for opens, clicks and bounces.
- Bulk stream
- Bulk and marketing email goes out on a separate stream, by API or SMTP, so it does not affect the reputation of transactional sending.
- Email Sandbox
- A fake SMTP server catches emails from dev, QA and staging, with HTML and spam checks, sold as separate plans from free for 50 test emails a month.
- Inbound email
- Dedicated inbound addresses, real-time webhooks and API access let your app or AI agents receive email.
- Deliverability analytics
- Stats for each mailbox provider, bounce categories and feedback-loop complaint data, with reputation alerts and dedicated IPs from Business.
- Security and accounts
- Two-factor sign-in and API key permissions on every plan, IP allowlisting from Basic, and SSO and subaccounts from Business.
Plans
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.
Mailtrap
Free$0
4,000 emails a month and 150 a day, 1 user, 1 domain, 3 days of logs, no extra emails.
Basic$15
per month for 10,000 emails
3 users, 5 domains, 5 days of logs, email support on weekdays. Extra emails $1 per 1,000. $20 a month at 50,000 emails and $30 at 100,000.
Business$85
per month for 100,000 emails
100 users, 100 domains, 15 days of logs, dedicated IP with warm-up, SSO, subaccounts, 24/7 chat. Extra emails $0.88 per 1,000.
Enterprise$750
per month for 1,500,000 emails
Unlimited users and domains, 30 days of logs, priority support. Extra emails $0.55 per 1,000; $1,250 at 2.5 million, custom above.
Ways to pay less
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.
Mailtrap
No public discounts listed.
