Mailgun vs SendLayer (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Mailgun and SendLayer share a 2.4 GPA, and only Mailgun has a free plan.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Mailgun grades higher on the free plan and features. SendLayer grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on 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
SendLayer
Transactional email over SMTP or API, aimed at WordPress sites
Which one is for you
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
Pick SendLayer if
- Fits if you run a WordPress or WooCommerce site and send order mail
- Works for small senders under 10,000 emails a month
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there is only a 200-email trial
- Tight if you want to pay monthly, since every plan is billed annually
- Watch out: your plan is upgraded automatically when you reach its monthly email limit
- Not for you if you send marketing campaigns, because it is a transactional service
- Tight if you need long logs, as Starter keeps 3 days
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAMailgunFair | 2.4GPASendLayerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 $15 but stops at 10,000 emails, 1 domain and 1 day of logs. A dedicated IP means Scale at $90. | A$5 a month billed annually for 1,000 emails, under the $6 that is 60% of the category's cheaper quarter. The volume is small and the year is paid up front. |
| 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. | DA trial of up to 200 emails and no permanent free plan; the page does not say whether a card is needed. |
| 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 job; inbox placement tests are a separate product, Mailgun Optimize. | CSMTP and an API, email logs, open and click tracking, suppression and domain authentication, but the listing shows no inbound mail or IP pools and logs last 3 to 30 days. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | BA web dashboard and an API; the listing names WordPress and WooCommerce. |
| Best for | sending and receiving email from an app | transactional email for WordPress sites |
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 SendLayer. 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. SendLayer starts at $5 a month and scores 2.3.
Mailgun scores higher, and starts $10 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email sending services on the chart, none scores higher than Mailgun for less, and 1 scores higher than SendLayer 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 also covers email verification.
At a glance
| Mailgun | SendLayer | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $15 per month for 10,000 emails | $5 per month for 1,000 emails, billed annually |
| 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 | Free trial of up to 200 emails |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Mailgun | SendLayer, LLC |
| Price read from | mailgun.com | sendlayer.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
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.
SendLayer
- All plans are billed annually; the pricing page shows no monthly-billing option.
- It has no permanent free plan, only a trial of up to 200 emails.
- Per its FAQ, a plan is upgraded automatically if you reach its monthly email limit.
- It is a transactional email service, not a tool for marketing campaigns.
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.
SendLayer
- SMTP relay and API
- Every plan can send through an SMTP relay, set up by copying credentials, or through an email API.
- Email logs
- Logs trace each message to its destination. Retention runs from 3 days on Starter to 30 days on Growth and Scale.
- Open and click tracking
- Engagement can be checked per message and filtered by status or recipient, with an analytics view on every plan.
- Suppression and bounce handling
- Suppression, bounce and blocklist management are listed on every plan, along with event-based webhooks.
- Domain authentication
- DKIM, SPF and DMARC authentication are listed on every plan, with a limit on sender domains per plan.
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.
SendLayer
Starter$5
per month for 1,000 emails, billed annually
1 sender domain, 3 days of log retention and standard support.
Business$15
per month for 5,000 emails, billed annually
3 sender domains, 15 days of log retention and premium support.
Growth$25
per month for 10,000 emails, billed annually
5 sender domains, 30 days of log retention and premium support.
ScaleCustom
20,000+ emails a month, 20 sender domains, 30 days of logs and VIP support. Quote on request.
Ways to pay less
Mailgun
No public discounts listed.
SendLayer
- Other savings
14-day money-back guarantee
The pricing page says that within 14 days of starting, you can ask for a full refund if SendLayer is not a fit.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mailgun or SendLayer?
As of Nov 12, 2026, SendLayer is cheaper to start with: $5 a month, against $15 a month for Mailgun. Mailgun starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails, and SendLayer starts at $5 per month for 1,000 emails, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, Mailgun or SendLayer?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Mailgun has a free plan. SendLayer does not, though it has a free trial.
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.