Mailgun vs SMTPeter (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Mailgun grades higher than SMTPeter: 2.4 against 1.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Mailgun grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
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
SMTPeter
Dutch-hosted SMTP and REST email service with a dedicated IP
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 SMTPeter if
- Fits if you want your email handled in the Netherlands on an IP of your own
- Works for apps sending around 25,000 emails a month at a steady rate
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan or a trial, as there isn't one
- Pricey if you only send a little, since the license starts at €55 a month
- Tight if you need more than 1 IP or 1 sender domain: each costs extra, and over five domains means contacting the vendor
- Watch out: technical support is a separate €89 a month
- Watch out: prices are in euros and the page doesn't say whether VAT is included
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAMailgunFair | 1.4GPASMTPeterWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | D€55 a month for 25,000 emails and 1 IP. Email sending tools start around $9, so this is near the top of the category. |
| 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. | FNo free plan or trial on the pricing section. |
| 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 REST API, dedicated IP, DKIM, click and bounce tracking, archiving, DMARC reports and a template store. It covers the sending job, with extras charged on top. |
| 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 configure sending domains and DNS before it works. |
| 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. | CWeb dashboard with SMTP and a REST API. No integrations list on its pages. |
| Best for | sending and receiving email from an app | Dutch-hosted transactional email on a dedicated IP |
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 SMTPeter. 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. SMTPeter starts at about $61.45 a month and scores 2.0.
Mailgun scores higher and starts $46.45 a month lower. Of the other email sending services on the chart, none scores higher than Mailgun for less, and 28 score higher than SMTPeter 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.
- SMTPeter also covers templates and dMARC.
At a glance
| Mailgun | SMTPeter | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $15 per month for 10,000 emails | €55 per month for up to 25,000 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 | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Mailgun | Copernica |
| Price read from | mailgun.com | smtpeter.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
SMTPeter
- There is no free plan or trial on the pricing section.
- Prices are in euros; the page does not say whether VAT is included.
- Extra IPs or sender domains cost more, and more than five domains requires contacting the vendor.
- A technical support contract is sold separately at €89 a month.
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.
SMTPeter
- SMTP and REST API
- Messages arrive over SMTP or a REST API, and the API also returns log files, statistics and archived messages.
- Dedicated IP and Dutch hosting
- The license includes one IP address, and the vendor says the infrastructure is hosted in the Netherlands.
- Authentication and tracking
- DKIM signing is available, along with SPF and DMARC support, link rewriting for click tracking and bounce interception.
- Template store and editors
- Templates are stored as JSON, editable in a drag-and-drop editor or an HTML editor, and selected through the API for personalized sends.
- Archiving and DMARC reports
- Every sent email is archived and viewable in the dashboard or API, which also shows DMARC reports and feedback-loop notifications.
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.
SMTPeter
SMTPeter license€55
per month for up to 25,000 emails, 1 IP address and 1 sender domain
Beyond 25,000 emails: €0.23 per 1,000 for the next 25,000, then €0.22, €0.17, €0.06 and €0.05 as volume rises. Extra IPs or domains are charged extra.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mailgun or SMTPeter?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Mailgun is cheaper to start with: $15 a month, against about $61.45 a month for SMTPeter. Mailgun starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails, and SMTPeter starts at €55 per month for up to 25,000 emails.
Which has a free plan, Mailgun or SMTPeter?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Mailgun has a free plan. SMTPeter does not.
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.