head to head
SendGrid vs Mailgun
Two veterans of the transactional email space, both now part of larger telco-style parents.
Side by side
| Feature | SendGrid | Mailgun |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | Twilio-owned veteran with broad SDK coverage. | Developer-leaning email infra, owned by Sinch. |
| Free tier | 60-day free trial only (permanent free tier was removed May 2025) | 100/day on Foundation trial |
| Starts at | $19.95/mo for 50,000 emails | $15/mo for 10,000 emails (Basic) |
| Pricing model | tiered | tiered |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| SDKs | node, python, go, ruby, php, java, dotnet | node, python, go, ruby, php, java |
| Templates | rich | rich |
| React Email | No | No |
| Webhooks | Yes | Yes |
| Inbound | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-tenant | Yes | Yes |
| Idempotency | No | No |
| Dedicated IP | Yes | Yes |
| Deliverability | Solid but not exceptional. Independent tests typically place SendGrid behind Postmark and SMTP2GO on inbox placement. The shared-IP pool is large and reputation can swing. | Generally good, with deliverability monitoring tools available on higher tiers. Inbound routes and suppressions are battle-tested. |
| DX score | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Best for | Enterprises that want a single Twilio-backed vendor for email and SMS. | Technical teams that want SMTP relay plus advanced routing. |
SendGrid
pros
- ›Mature, broad SDK coverage
- ›Twilio backing means long-term operational stability
- ›Marketing platform alongside transactional
- ›Inbound parse webhook is well-documented
cons
- ›Removed the permanent free tier in May 2025
- ›No idempotency keys
- ›No API request logs for debugging
- ›Pricing climbs steeply across plan tiers; many features gated to higher SKUs
- ›Legacy v3 API patterns feel dated next to Resend or MailerSend
Mailgun
pros
- ›Strong SMTP relay support, useful when migrating off self-hosted Postfix
- ›Inbound routes with regex matching
- ›Validation and parsing tools available
- ›Sub-accounts for agency use cases
cons
- ›Pricing changes in late 2025 hurt trust with long-time customers
- ›Documentation is comprehensive but occasionally out of date
- ›No idempotency keys
- ›Sinch ownership has moved focus toward enterprise