Mailgun vs Twilio SendGrid
We give Mailgun a 2.4 GPA and Twilio SendGrid a 2.6, out of 4.0. Twilio SendGrid 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.
Mailgun
Email API and SMTP relay for developers, with list validation
Twilio SendGrid
Twilio's email API and SMTP service, priced by monthly email volume
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAMailgunFair | 2.6GPATwilio SendGridGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded on 50,000 emails a month: Foundation is $35 at that volume, toward the dear end of this category, with the first month free. Basic is cheaper but stops at 10,000 emails, 1 domain and 1 day of logs. A dedicated IP means Scale at $90. | BGraded on 50,000 emails a month: Essentials is $19.95 for exactly that, in the cheaper quarter of this category at that volume. It's thin for the money, with 1 teammate and 3 days of activity, and Pro at $89.95 is where dedicated IPs and SSO start. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree for good: 100 emails a day through the API or SMTP, with 1 domain, 1 inbound route and 1 day of logs. Enough to build against, not to run a live app on. There's also a 30-day trial of Foundation and Scale. | CNo lasting free plan, but a 60-day trial with no card: 100 emails a day, enough to wire it into your app and test. After that you're paying. |
| Features | BAPI and SMTP with SDKs in six languages and an MCP server, inbound routing, webhooks, templates, address validation, US or EU regions and dedicated IPs. It covers the whole job; inbox placement tests are a separate product. | BAPI and SMTP, event webhooks, an inbound parse webhook, dynamic templates, domain authentication, address validation and EU data residency. That covers the whole job. Testing credits, subusers and dedicated IPs wait for Pro. |
| Ease of use | CJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: grab an API key, use an SDK or SMTP, and verify a sending domain. No rating on record. There's no send button at all, so everything goes through code. | CJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: client libraries, interactive API docs and a setup guide on every plan, but you'll authenticate a domain before mail goes out properly. No rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with an API, SMTP, SDKs and an MCP server, plus Zapier, Make, n8n, Shopify, HubSpot, Salesforce, WordPress and Datadog. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. | BWeb, with a REST API, client libraries, SMTP and webhooks, so anything that speaks SMTP can use it. The listing names no ready-made integrations, and there's no desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | sending and receiving email from an app | app email for teams already on Twilio |
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: Mailgun and Twilio SendGrid. How we grade
Price against what you get
Mailgun starts at $15 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Twilio SendGrid starts at $19.95 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Mailgun starts $4.95 a month lower. Of the other email sending services on the chart, none scores higher than Mailgun for less, and none scores higher than Twilio SendGrid 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
- Mailgun starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails. Twilio SendGrid starts at $19.95 per month for 50,000 emails.
- Mailgun has a free plan. Twilio SendGrid does not, though it has a free trial.
At a glance
| Mailgun | Twilio SendGrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $15 per month for 10,000 emails | $19.95 per month for 50,000 emails |
| Free plan | 100 emails a day, 1 custom sending domain, 1 user, 1 inbound route, 1 day of logs and ticket support, through the API or SMTP. | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the Foundation and Scale plans | 60-day free trial with 100 emails a day, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Mailgun | Twilio Inc. |
| Price read from | mailgun.com | twilio.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Mailgun
- Developers sending and receiving email from an app
- Teams that want address validation from the same provider
- Companies that need email data kept in the EU
Twilio SendGrid
- Developers adding transactional email to an app
- Teams that also use Twilio for text messages or voice
- Growing senders who will need dedicated IPs and subusers
Worth knowing
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.
Twilio SendGrid
- There is no lasting free plan: the free trial ends after 60 days and allows 100 emails a day.
- Essentials has a single teammate and keeps 3 days of email activity; dedicated IPs, subusers and SSO need Pro at $89.95 a month.
- Sending past the plan's volume can add overage charges, which the pricing page does not list.
- Email campaigns are a separate product, Marketing Campaigns, from $15 a month for 5,000 contacts and 15,000 emails.
Key features
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.
Twilio SendGrid
- Email API and SMTP relay
- Send through a REST API with client libraries or through SMTP, with interactive API docs and a setup guide on every plan.
- Deliverability tools
- SPF and DKIM domain authentication, link branding, reverse DNS and suppression management on every plan; Pro adds dedicated IPs, IP pools and automated IP warm-up.
- Webhooks and analytics
- Event webhooks report deliveries, opens, bounces and blocks, and an inbound parse webhook turns received email into data your app can read.
- Email address validation
- A validation API checks addresses before you send; Pro includes 2,500 free validations and Premier 5,000.
- Dynamic templates and testing
- A template editor on every plan, and from Pro, 60 email testing credits a month for previews before sending.
- Security and compliance
- Two-factor sign-in, TLS encryption, IP access management, SOC 2 Type II and an EU data residency option, with single sign-on from Pro.
Plans
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.
Twilio SendGrid
Essentials$19.95
per month for 50,000 emails
SMTP and API sending, analytics, 1 teammate, 2 event webhooks and 3 days of email activity. $34.95 a month at 100,000 emails.
Pro$89.95
per month for 100,000 emails
1 dedicated IP, subusers, SSO, 1,000 teammates, 2,500 email validations, testing credits and 7 days of activity. $249 a month at 300,000 emails.
PremierCustom
Custom volume, 5,000 email validations and expert email program management, sold through sales.
