Mailgun vs SocketLabs (2026): which should you pick?

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 SocketLabs if

• Fits if you send 40,000 emails or more a month and want delivery analytics
• Works for platforms that need subaccounts and IP pools

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you send little, as the cheapest plan is $39.95 a month for 40,000 emails
• Skip it if you want a free plan, because the free first month ends with sending stopped
• Tight if you need a dedicated IP, which starts on Pro at $89.95 a month
• Watch out: Spotlight Analytics is open only to Enterprise-level senders, per its FAQ
• Watch out: Core has one volume step of 40,000 emails; heavier senders move to Pro

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.

SocketLabs

• There is no permanent free plan; the free first month of Core ends with sending stopped unless you upgrade.
• A dedicated IP address and StreamScorePro start on Pro at $89.95 a month.
• Core has one volume step, 40,000 emails; heavier senders move to Pro, which has steps up to 800,000, or to Enterprise.
• Spotlight Analytics is only open to Enterprise-level SocketLabs Email senders at this time, according to its FAQ.

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.

SocketLabs

SMTP relay and injection API

Mail can be sent through a standard SMTP connection or the HTTP injection API, with a separate SocketLabs API and event webhooks.

StreamScore reputation score

A color-coded score built from more than 35 internal and external data points. Core gets StreamScoreLite, and Pro gets StreamScorePro.

Subaccounts and IP pools

Subaccounts split mail streams by sender or customer, and IP pool management is listed in the feature table, for teams that route mail by policy.

Rule Engine routing

On Enterprise, the Rule Engine can send mail directly, relay it, or split traffic across several third-party providers.

Spotlight email analytics

A separate analytics product that takes webhook data from SendGrid, Mailgun or Bird and reports on sending activity, with a 30-day proof of concept.

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.

SocketLabs

• Core$39.95

  per month for 40,000 emails, billed monthly

  First month free. SMTP relay and API, StreamScoreLite, 10 days of insight history, ticket and chat support. Extra emails $0.0013 each.

• Pro$89.95

  per month for 100,000 emails, billed monthly

  Adds a dedicated IP address, StreamScorePro and priority support. Price rises with volume: $170 at 200,000, $600 at 800,000 emails a month.

• EnterpriseCustom

  For senders of 1M+ emails a month, with optional Spotlight, StreamMonitor and Rule Engine and dedicated support.

Mailgun

No public discounts listed.

SocketLabs

• Other savings

  First month of Core free

  A new verified account gets the Core plan for one month, or a set amount of credits, without a card. Sending stops at the end unless you upgrade.