SendGrid vs Mailgun (2026): Pricing, Features and Which to Choose

TL;DR: Pick SendGrid if you want transactional and marketing email under one account, plus a big ecosystem of integrations. Pick Mailgun if you want a cheaper entry plan, an EU sending region, inbound email parsing and longer logs on its bigger plans. SendGrid starts at $19.95 a month and Mailgun at $15, as of October 2026. Below I compare pricing, free options, APIs, deliverability tools, logs and my pick by use case.

Since February 1, 2024, Gmail has required anyone sending 5,000 or more messages a day to set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC. That rule sits in Google’s email sender guidelines.

Microsoft followed. Outlook.com started enforcing similar rules for high-volume senders on May 5, 2025, as EasyDMARC’s summary of the Outlook change explains.

So the email provider behind your SaaS app matters more than it used to. Your password resets, invoices and alerts need to land in the inbox every time.

SendGrid and Mailgun are two of the oldest names in this space. Both offer an email API and SMTP relay. Both target developers. But they price, package and log things in different ways.

I compared both vendors’ pricing pages, docs and policies to help you pick. If you want the wider field first, see my list of the best transactional email services for SaaS. If cost is your main worry, my transactional email pricing guide breaks down costs at every volume.

SendGrid vs Mailgun: Quick Comparison

Factor	SendGrid	Mailgun
Best for	Teams that want transactional plus marketing email in one place	Developers who want low entry cost, inbound routing and an EU region
Owner	Twilio	Sinch
Free option	60-day trial, 100 emails a day	Free plan, 100 emails a day
Starting paid plan	Essentials from $19.95/mo	Basic from $15/mo (10,000 emails)
Dedicated IP	1 included on Pro and Premier	1 included on Scale
Log retention	3 days (Essentials), 7 days (Pro)	1 day (Free, Basic), 5 days (Foundation), 30 days (Scale)
EU option	EU data residency with EU subuser and EU dedicated IP	EU region with its own API endpoint
Key feature	Marketing Campaigns add-on and a large integration ecosystem	Inbound routing, validations and Optimize deliverability tools

Prices above come from the SendGrid Email API pricing page and the Mailgun pricing page, as of October 2026.

What Is the Main Difference Between SendGrid and Mailgun?

The main difference is focus. SendGrid is part of Twilio and bundles an email API with a separate Marketing Campaigns product, so one vendor can cover app email and newsletters. Mailgun, owned by Sinch, is built around developers. It has a cheaper entry plan, a true free plan, an EU region, inbound email routing and longer logs on its Scale plan. I’d lean SendGrid for mixed email programs and Mailgun for pure app email.

Here’s how I’d sum up each one:

• SendGrid is an email platform. You get the Email API for app mail and Marketing Campaigns for lists, templates and campaigns. It plugs into the wider Twilio stack, which also covers SMS and voice.
• Mailgun is an email infrastructure toolkit. You get a Send API and SMTP, inbound routing, an Email Validation API and a deliverability suite called Optimize.

Both can send password resets and receipts well. The question is what else you need around them. If you’re still sorting out which messages count as transactional, read my guide to transactional vs marketing email first.

How Do SendGrid and Mailgun Compare on Pricing?

Mailgun is cheaper at low volume. Its Basic plan starts at $15 a month for 10,000 emails, while SendGrid’s Essentials starts at $19.95. At around 100,000 emails a month the two are close: SendGrid Pro starts at $89.95 and Mailgun Scale costs $90. Mailgun publishes its overage rates on the pricing page. SendGrid sends you to a separate overage article, so check it before you commit.

Here’s the side-by-side, using each vendor’s own page as of October 2026.

Plan level	SendGrid	Mailgun
Free	60-day trial, 100 emails a day, no card	Free plan, 100 emails a day
Entry	Essentials from $19.95/mo	Basic from $15/mo, 10,000 emails
Mid	Pro from $89.95/mo	Foundation $35/mo, 50,000 emails
Higher	Premier, custom pricing	Scale $90/mo, 100,000 emails
Overage	Listed in a separate SendGrid support article	From $1.80 (Basic), $1.30 (Foundation), $1.10 (Scale) per 1,000
Extra dedicated IP	Paid add-on, price not shown on the plan page	$59 per IP per month (pricing FAQ)

A few notes so you read this table fairly.

SendGrid’s volumes. The SendGrid page says pricing depends on volume and features. It lists “starting at” prices without the volume each one covers. Third-party reviews, like Sender’s SendGrid pricing breakdown, put Essentials at 50,000 emails and Pro at 100,000. Pick your volume on the live page to confirm.

Mailgun’s trial months. Mailgun shows Foundation and Scale as “free for 1 month” before the monthly price kicks in. That’s a nice way to try the bigger plans.

Where each one wins. If SendGrid Essentials really covers 50,000 emails at $19.95, it beats Mailgun Foundation’s $35 at that volume. Under 10,000 emails, Mailgun Basic at $15 is the cheaper paid plan. At 100,000, it’s basically a tie.

Most people overpay because they pick a tier for features they don’t use. Price your real monthly volume, then add the features you can’t live without.

Which Has the Better Free Option?

Mailgun has the better free option for most people. Its Free plan gives you 100 emails a day with no end date listed. SendGrid retired its forever-free plan and now offers a 60-day trial at 100 emails a day, with no credit card. If you want a sandbox that stays free for a side project or staging app, Mailgun fits better.

The SendGrid change caught a lot of small teams off guard. Sender’s review says SendGrid ended its free plans on May 27, 2025. Twilio’s own pricing page now describes a “$0/mo for 60 days” trial.

Mailgun’s free plan has limits too. It keeps logs for 1 day, allows 1 user and 1 inbound route. That’s fine for testing. It’s not enough for a production SaaS app.

So if you’re comparing free tiers, ask yourself a blunt question: will you be on a paid plan within two months anyway? If yes, the free option barely matters.

How Do Their APIs and Developer Tools Compare?

Both give you a REST API, SMTP relay, templates, webhooks and SDKs, so either one works for a typical app. Mailgun stands out for inbound email: it can parse incoming messages into JSON and route them to your app. SendGrid stands out for its dynamic template editor and the wider Twilio platform. Pick based on whether you need to receive email, not just send it.

Here’s what each one brings to the table.

SendGrid. The pricing page lists a dynamic template editor on every plan, with template testing on Pro and Premier. Event webhooks scale with your plan: 1 on the trial, 2 on Essentials and 5 on Pro. Pro also adds subuser management and up to 1,000 teammates. Subusers help if you run separate products or customers under one account.

Mailgun. The Mailgun Send product page lists a RESTful API, SMTP relay, a template builder and inbound routing that turns “incoming email streams” into JSON. Inbound routes scale from 1 on Free to 5 on Basic and full access on Foundation.

Inbound routing is a big deal for some SaaS products. Think support inboxes, reply-by-email comments or parsing receipts that users forward to you. If that’s you, Mailgun has the edge.

If developer experience is your top factor, I rank more options in my guide to the best email API for developers.

Which Is Better for Deliverability?

Neither vendor can guarantee inbox placement. Your authentication, list quality and sending habits matter more than the logo on your account. Both support SPF, DKIM and dedicated IPs. Mailgun bundles more deliverability tools: a validation API, plus inbox placement and reputation monitoring in its Optimize suite. SendGrid includes free validations on Pro and Premier. I’d call this a draw on the basics.

Here’s what actually moves your inbox rate.

Authentication. Google’s sender rules require SPF and DKIM plus DMARC for bulk senders. Yahoo has matching rules, covered in the Yahoo Sender Hub FAQ. Microsoft now bounces non-compliant bulk mail with a 550 5.7.15 error, per EasyDMARC. Both SendGrid and Mailgun walk you through domain authentication.

Spam rate. Gmail wants your user-reported spam rate under 0.3%. It recommends staying below 0.10%. No provider fixes that for you. Clean lists and clear opt-ins do.

Dedicated IPs. SendGrid includes 1 dedicated IP on Pro and Premier. Mailgun includes one on Scale and says extra IPs cost $59 per month. Under about 100,000 emails a month, a shared pool is often fine. A dedicated IP with low volume can’t build a steady reputation.

Validation. SendGrid Pro includes 2,500 free validations and Premier 5,000. Mailgun Scale includes 5,000, with extra checks from $0.80 per 100. On Basic and Foundation, Mailgun validations start at $1.20 per 100.

For the full setup, my email deliverability guide covers SPF, DKIM, DMARC, warmup and bounces step by step.

How Do Logs, Teams and Marketing Email Compare?

Mailgun wins on logs at the top tier: Scale keeps 30 days, while SendGrid Pro keeps 7 days searchable. SendGrid wins on marketing email because it sells a full Marketing Campaigns product. Mailgun’s paid tiers above Basic include unlimited users at no extra cost. SendGrid limits Essentials to 1 teammate but jumps to 1,000 on Pro.

Logs. Logs are how you answer “did my reset email go out?” when a customer complains. SendGrid keeps 3 days on the trial and Essentials, and 7 days on Pro, with more for purchase. Mailgun keeps 1 day on Free and Basic, 5 days on Foundation and 30 days on Scale.

Short logs hurt support teams. If your team debugs delivery issues often, Mailgun Scale’s 30 days is a real perk.

Teams. SendGrid Essentials has 1 teammate. That’s tight for any team beyond a solo founder. Mailgun Foundation and Scale list unlimited users at no extra cost.

Marketing email. SendGrid’s Marketing Campaigns pricing starts at $15 a month on Basic and $60 on Advanced. Mailgun focuses on sending from your app, with features like send time optimization for campaigns. If you want a marketer-friendly editor and contact lists, SendGrid fits better.

One caution: keep marketing and transactional mail on separate streams or subdomains. A bad campaign shouldn’t drag down your password resets.

Who Owns SendGrid and Mailgun, and Does It Matter?

Twilio owns SendGrid. It closed the deal on February 1, 2019. Sinch owns Mailgun after buying its parent company, Pathwire, in 2021. Ownership matters for two reasons: product direction and support. Both now sit inside large communications companies, so expect bundling with SMS and other channels. Neither change is a reason to avoid them, but read pricing updates closely.

Twilio’s press release on the SendGrid acquisition confirms the 2019 close. Sinch’s announcement on Pathwire covers the Mailgun deal.

The practical takeaway: both vendors change plans now and then. SendGrid’s free plan retirement is a good example. Check the pricing page every year and keep your email code behind a small wrapper. That way, switching providers is a day of work, not a month.

SendGrid or Mailgun: Which Should You Choose?

Choose SendGrid if you want app email and marketing email from one vendor, or you already use Twilio. Choose Mailgun if you want the cheapest entry plan, a free plan that doesn’t expire, inbound parsing, an EU region or 30-day logs. For a typical early SaaS app sending under 10,000 emails a month, I’d start with Mailgun Basic.

Here’s my pick by situation.

• Early SaaS, under 10,000 emails a month: Mailgun Basic at $15.
• Around 50,000 emails a month: SendGrid Essentials, if your live quote confirms 50,000 at $19.95.
• Around 100,000 emails a month: a tie on price. Pick Mailgun for logs and inbound, SendGrid for marketing.
• You need EU data handling: Mailgun’s EU region is simpler. SendGrid’s EU data residency needs an EU subuser and an EU dedicated IP, per its data residency FAQ.
• You receive email in your app: Mailgun.
• You also run newsletters: SendGrid with Marketing Campaigns.

Visit SendGrid

Visit Mailgun

Mailgun’s EU base URL is api.eu.mailgun.net, per the Mailgun API overview. That makes regional setup simple.

Not sold on either? My lists of SendGrid alternatives and Mailgun alternatives cover other strong options.

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How I Evaluated SendGrid and Mailgun

I didn’t run send tests for this comparison. I compared both vendors on what they publish: pricing pages, plan limits, product pages and docs. I also checked mailbox provider rules from Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, since those set the bar every sender must meet.

Here’s what I weighed:

• Price at real volumes. Entry, mid and high tiers, plus overage rates where listed.
• Free access. Whether you can test or run a small app without paying.
• Developer tools. APIs, SMTP, webhooks, templates and inbound routing.
• Deliverability features. Dedicated IPs, validation and monitoring tools.
• Operations. Log retention, team seats, regions and ownership.

Vendor claims are labeled as the vendor’s. Prices are as of October 2026 and change often. My editorial policy explains how I handle sources and updates.

The Bottom Line

SendGrid and Mailgun are both solid choices for SaaS email. Neither is a bad pick.

Mailgun is my default for developer-led teams. It has a cheaper entry plan, a free plan that stays free, inbound routing, an EU region and 30-day logs on Scale.

SendGrid makes more sense if you want marketing and transactional email under one roof, or you already build on Twilio. Its Essentials plan can be the better deal around 50,000 emails a month.

Whichever you pick, set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC on day one. Keep marketing on a separate stream. Then price your real volume on the live pages. For more providers ranked side by side, start with my transactional email services roundup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SendGrid or Mailgun cheaper?

Mailgun is cheaper at low volume. Its Basic plan starts at $15 a month for 10,000 emails, while SendGrid Essentials starts at $19.95. Around 100,000 emails a month they’re nearly equal, with SendGrid Pro from $89.95 and Mailgun Scale at $90. Prices are as of October 2026, so confirm your exact volume on each pricing page before you buy.

Does SendGrid still have a free plan?

No, not a permanent one. SendGrid now offers a 60-day free trial that lets you send 100 emails a day with no credit card, according to Twilio’s pricing page. Third-party reviews report the old forever-free plan ended on May 27, 2025. If you need a free tier that doesn’t expire, Mailgun’s Free plan allows 100 emails a day.

Which is better for developers, SendGrid or Mailgun?

Both offer a REST API, SMTP relay, webhooks, templates and SDKs, so either works for most apps. Mailgun is better if your product needs to receive and parse incoming email, since its inbound routing turns messages into JSON. SendGrid is better if you want a dynamic template editor and tight links to other Twilio products like SMS.

Do SendGrid and Mailgun include a dedicated IP?

Yes, on higher plans. SendGrid includes 1 dedicated IP on Pro and Premier, and sells more as an add-on. Mailgun includes one on its Scale plan and lists extra IPs at $59 per month. Under roughly 100,000 emails a month, a shared IP pool is often the safer choice, because low volume makes it hard to build reputation.

Can I use SendGrid or Mailgun for marketing emails?

You can, but SendGrid is the stronger fit. It sells a separate Marketing Campaigns product with plans from $15 a month, including contact storage and an editor. Mailgun focuses on sending from your app. With either one, keep marketing mail on a separate subdomain or stream so campaign complaints don’t hurt your transactional delivery.