MailPace vs Postmark (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, MailPace and Postmark share a 2.2 GPA, and only Postmark has a free plan.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
MailPace grades higher on value for money. Postmark grades higher on the free plan and features. 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.
MailPace
EU-hosted transactional email API and SMTP, without open tracking
Postmark
Transactional email API and SMTP, with broadcasts on a separate stream
Which one is for you
Pick MailPace if
- Fits if you want your mail handled in the EU with no open tracking
- Works for Rails, Laravel or Node apps that want one flat plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need a dedicated IP, as there is no such tier
- Watch out: received emails count toward the monthly volume along with sent ones
- Tight if you want a free plan, because 100 emails a month is given only on request
- Watch out: email content is kept for 30 days unless you ask for longer
- Not for you if you want open and click tracking, which it leaves out
Pick Postmark if
- Fits if you want password resets kept on a separate stream from your newsletters
- Works for apps that need to look back at exactly what an email said weeks later
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you send 50,000 emails a month, at $55 with no yearly discount
- Skip it if you want a free plan to run a small app on, as it's 100 emails a month with no tier until 10,000
- Tight if you're on Basic, with 4 users, 5 sending domains and no inbound email
- Not for you if you want a dedicated IP below 300,000 emails a month, and each one is $50 a month on Pro or higher
- Watch out: DMARC reports are an add-on from $14 a month per domain
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAMailPaceFair | 2.2GPAPostmarkFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$10 a month for the first 10,000 emails sent and received, with every feature on the one plan, the top of the category's cheaper quarter. | DGraded on 50,000 emails a month: $55 on Basic or $60.50 on Pro, billed monthly only. That's the dearest in this category at that volume, roughly twice the middle. Bootstrapped companies can ask for $75 of credit. |
| Free plan and trial | DA free plan of up to 100 emails a month exists only if you email the company; the page does not advertise it and there is no trial. | CA free developer plan that never expires and needs no card, but it's 100 emails a month with no way to buy more. That's for testing an integration, not running an app. |
| Features | CAn HTTP API, SMTP, inbound email, idempotent requests and bounce handling, but one plan only, no dedicated IP and open and click tracking left out on purpose. | BAPI and SMTP with SDKs, separate streams for app and bulk email, inbound email turned into JSON, templates, 45 days of message history and DMARC reports as an add-on from $14 a month. It covers the job; inbound needs Pro. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: official SDKs, a sandbox mode, ready-made templates for resets and receipts, and migration guides. You'll still verify a domain first. No rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web dashboard and an API; the listing names Rails, Laravel, Symfony, Node.js, Python and Go libraries. | BWeb, with an API and SMTP, plus Zapier, WordPress, Stripe, Slack, Supabase, Bubble, Netlify and Datadog. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | EU-hosted email API with no open tracking | app email kept apart from marketing sends |
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: MailPace and Postmark. How we grade
Price against what you get
MailPace starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Postmark starts at $15 a month and scores 2.7.
Postmark scores higher, and starts $5 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email sending services on the chart, 5 score higher than MailPace for less, and none scores higher than Postmark 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
- Postmark also covers dMARC.
At a glance
| MailPace | Postmark | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month for the first 10,000 emails | $15 per month for 10,000 emails |
| Free plan | None | Free developer plan: 100 emails a month with no expiry and no overages, for testing an integration or a small side project. No credit card needed. |
| Free trial | Free plan of up to 100 emails a month, on request by email | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | MailPace | ActiveCampaign, LLC |
| Price read from | mailpace.com | postmarkapp.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
MailPace
- There is one paid plan, so there is no tier with a dedicated IP address.
- Received emails count toward the monthly volume, as well as sent ones.
- The free plan of up to 100 emails a month is not advertised; the pricing page says to email the company.
- Email content is kept for 30 days, and a longer period has to be requested.
Postmark
- There is no tier between the free 100 emails a month and the 10,000-email paid plans.
- Billing is monthly only; the FAQ says annual plans are not offered yet.
- Basic has no inbound email processing and caps users at 4 and sending domains at 5.
- Dedicated IPs start at $50 a month per IP, need Pro or higher and 300,000 emails a month or more.
Key features
MailPace
- HTTP API and SMTP server
- Mail can be sent through a JSON HTTPS API or an SMTP server, with client libraries listed for Rails, Laravel, Node.js, Python, Go and more.
- Inbound email
- Incoming mail is received over SMTP and converted into HTTP webhooks that an application can process.
- Idempotent requests
- A request can carry an idempotency ID, so a retry does not send the same message twice.
- No open or click tracking
- MailPace says it never tracks email opens or clicks. It reports delivery acceptance rates instead.
- Bounce and blocklist handling
- Bounces are tracked automatically and bounced addresses are kept on a blocklist, with anti-spam checks on outgoing mail.
Postmark
- Email API and SMTP
- Send through a REST API with official SDKs or through SMTP, with batch sending, a sandbox mode and migration guides from other providers.
- Message streams
- Transactional and bulk or broadcast email run on separate sending infrastructure, so marketing sends do not affect password resets and receipts.
- Inbound email processing
- Pro and Platform turn incoming email into a JSON object and post it to a webhook URL your app handles.
- Templates
- Responsive templates for welcome emails, password resets and receipts, with a template editor and import tool.
- Message history and analytics
- 45 days of full message content by default, adjustable from 7 to 365 days, with bounce details, open and link tracking and a stats API.
- DMARC monitoring
- DMARC Digests reports show authentication problems and who is sending with your domain, sold as an add-on from $14 a month per domain.
Plans
MailPace
Pay as you grow$10
per month for the first 10,000 emails sent and received
One plan with every feature included. The price follows monthly volume, set on a slider from 100 to 1,000,000 emails; extra emails are added to the bill.
Postmark
Free$0
100 emails a month, never expires; extra emails cannot be bought on this plan.
Basic$15
per month for 10,000 emails
5 sending domains, 4 users, 45 days of history, no inbound email. Extra emails $1.80 per 1,000; $55 a month at 50,000 emails.
Pro$16.50
per month for 10,000 emails
10 domains, 6 users, inbound email, retention up to 365 days. Extra emails $1.30 per 1,000; $60.50 a month at 50,000 emails.
Platform$18
per month for 10,000 emails
Unlimited domains, servers, streams and users, with inbound email. Extra emails $1.20 per 1,000; $66 a month at 50,000 emails.
High volumeCustom
Custom pricing for large senders, arranged through sales.
Ways to pay less
MailPace
No public discounts listed.
Postmark
- Startups
$75 credit for bootstrapped companies
Companies that have launched, are charging for their product and have taken no outside investment can ask support for $75 of account credit.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, MailPace or Postmark?
As of Nov 12, 2026, MailPace is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $15 a month for Postmark. MailPace starts at $10 per month for the first 10,000 emails, and Postmark starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails.
Which has a free plan, MailPace or Postmark?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Postmark has a free plan. MailPace 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.