Mailgun vs SMTP2GO
We give Mailgun a 2.4 GPA and SMTP2GO a 2.2, out of 4.0. Mailgun grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, 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
SMTP2GO
SMTP relay and email API priced by emails a month, with a free plan
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAMailgunFair | 2.2GPASMTP2GOFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CGraded on 50,000 emails a month: Starter is $30 a month at that volume, with two months free if you pay yearly. That sits in the middle of what this category charges for that much sending. A dedicated IP and email testing need Professional at $75. |
| 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. | CFree for good with no card: 1,000 emails a month, but only 200 a day, with 5 days of reports, and extra emails can't be bought. Chat and phone help last 14 days. Fine for a test, tight for a live app. |
| 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. | CAPI and SMTP sending, automatic SPF and DKIM, delivery reports with bounce alerts, blacklist monitoring, three data regions and subaccounts. It does the sending job fully, but that's a smaller job: nothing on record covers receiving email or templates. |
| 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: copy the SMTP details or use the API, with code examples in five languages, once your domain is added. No rating on record. Sign-up refuses Gmail and Yahoo addresses, so you need a work domain. |
| 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 an SMTP relay and REST API that work from apps, servers and devices, plus WordPress, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, Pipedrive, WHMCS, Laravel and Django. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | sending and receiving email from an app | relaying email from apps, sites and office printers |
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 SMTP2GO. 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. SMTP2GO starts at $15 a month and scores 2.3.
Mailgun scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other email sending services on the chart, none scores higher than Mailgun for less, and 2 score higher than SMTP2GO 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. SMTP2GO starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails, billed monthly.
- Mailgun also covers email verification.
At a glance
| Mailgun | SMTP2GO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per month for 10,000 emails | $15 per month for 10,000 emails, billed monthly |
| 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. | 1,000 emails a month, limited to 200 a day, with 5 days of email reporting and ticket support. Extra emails are not allowed. No credit card needed. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the Foundation and Scale plans | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Mailgun | SMTP2GO |
| Price read from | mailgun.com | smtp2go.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
SMTP2GO
- Small businesses sending app or website email at low volume
- Schools and offices relaying mail from systems, printers and scanners
- IT providers managing sending for several clients
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.
SMTP2GO
- The free plan stops at 1,000 emails a month and 200 a day, and extra emails cannot be bought on it.
- A dedicated IP address and email testing tools start with Professional at $75 a month.
- Email reports are kept for 30 days on paid plans and 5 days on the free plan.
- Sign-up asks for an email address at a private domain; Gmail and Yahoo addresses are refused.
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.
SMTP2GO
- SMTP relay and HTTP API
- Send through SMTP from an app, a mail client, a server or a device, or through a REST API with code examples in JavaScript, Node.js, PHP, Ruby and Python.
- Delivery tracking and reports
- Real-time reports follow each email to delivery and show bounces, spam complaints and unsubscribes, with weekly summaries and alerts on sudden bounce rises.
- Automatic SPF and DKIM
- Domain authentication is handled for you, along with feedback loops, blacklist monitoring and spam trap detection on every plan.
- Data centers in three regions
- Choose to send from and store data in the US, Europe or Australia, with best-path routing to the nearest location.
- Email testing
- Professional adds previews in more than 40 email clients and checks against major spam filters before you send.
- Subaccounts
- Paid plans can split sending into subaccounts, which suits agencies and managed service providers looking after several clients.
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.
SMTP2GO
Free Plan$0
1,000 emails a month and 200 a day, 5 days of reports, ticket support; chat and phone support for the first 14 days only.
Starter$15
per month for 10,000 emails, billed monthly
30 days of reports, ticket, chat and phone support, subaccounts and SMS. Extra emails $1.20 per 1,000. Price rises with volume: $30 a month at 50,000 emails.
Professional$75
per month for 100,000 emails, billed monthly
Adds a dedicated IP address and email testing tools. Extra emails cost $0.85 per 1,000, and the price rises with volume.
PremierCustom
Over 3 million emails a month, with personalized setup and support.
Ways to pay less
Mailgun
No public discounts listed.
SMTP2GO
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
Paying yearly gives two months free: Starter at 10,000 emails is $150 a year instead of $180, and Professional at 100,000 is $750 instead of $900.
- Education
30% education discount
SMTP2GO's education page offers schools a 30% discount, with unlimited users and systems on one account.
