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Mailgun alternatives

Best Mailgun alternatives

Looking for a Mailgun alternative? Compare modern transactional email platforms with fast API latency, deep observability, and predictable pricing.

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Mailgun was founded in 2010 and acquired by Sinch in 2021. It has served developers for years, but its form-encoded API, lack of idempotency keys, expensive pricing at scale, and support frequently cited as slow push teams to look elsewhere. Here are the strongest alternatives for transactional email in 2026.

Common reasons

Why developers look for Mailgun alternatives

  • Form-encoded API by default with inconsistent endpoint patterns
  • No TypeScript SDK, forcing TypeScript developers to use raw HTTP calls or untyped wrappers
  • Does not support idempotency keys, increasing the risk of duplicate sends during network failures
  • Expensive pricing at scale with opaque costs at higher volumes
  • Support frequently cited as slow or unhelpful unless you are on a high-tier paid plan
  • Shared IP pools can be noisier, potentially affecting your deliverability
  • EU hosting available but requires explicit region selection during setup
Evaluation criteria

What to look for in an alternative

Key criteria to evaluate when choosing a Mailgun replacement.

  • Fast API send latency for high-throughput applications
  • Deep-stack observability: API logs, email flow tracking, send latency metrics, and webhook monitoring
  • Predictable, transparent pricing published at all volume tiers
  • EU data hosting included by default, not as a separate region option
  • Idempotent requests and built-in retry logic at the SDK level
  • Type-safe TypeScript SDK with compile-time error catching
Alternatives

Best Mailgun alternatives in 2026

A curated list of transactional email platforms ranked by developer experience.

1. Nuntly

Recommended

Developer-first transactional email platform with fast API send latency, deep-stack observability, EU data hosting, and predictable pricing. Bootstrap company. Free plan included.

Strengths

  • Fast API send latency optimized for high-throughput applications
  • Deep-stack observability: unified view of API logs, email flow, send latency, delivery events, and webhooks
  • EU data hosting and GDPR compliance by default on all plans
  • Type-safe TypeScript and Java SDKs with built-in retry logic and idempotent requests
  • Predictable pricing from a bootstrap company, published up to 1.5M emails/mo
Best for: Teams that need fast API latency, deep observability, EU data hosting, and predictable pricing for transactional email.
Pricing: Free (3,000 emails/mo), Starter from €10/mo, Scale from €68/mo
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2. Resend

Developer-focused email service with a clean API and React Email integration. Popular with Next.js and React developers. VC-backed with pricing that has increased significantly at higher tiers.

Strengths

  • Clean, modern API design
  • React Email template integration
  • SDKs for JavaScript/TypeScript and Java
  • Platform API for domains, API keys, and teams
Best for: Small projects using React Email templates that do not need EU hosting, unified observability, or predictable pricing at scale.
Pricing: Free (3,000 emails/mo), Pro from $20/mo

3. Postmark

Transactional-focused email service founded in 2009 and acquired by ActiveCampaign in 2020. Known for delivery speed, but one of the most expensive providers at scale with slow onboarding and no EU hosting.

Strengths

  • Strong reputation for transactional delivery
  • Inbound email processing
  • Detailed delivery analytics
Best for: Teams that need both transactional sending and inbound email processing and can accept expensive pricing at scale.
Pricing: Free (100 emails/mo), Basic from $15/mo, Pro from $16.50/mo, Platform from $18/mo

4. SendGrid (Twilio)

Mature email platform founded in 2009 and acquired by Twilio in 2019. Supports both transactional and marketing email, but carries legacy API patterns and expensive pricing at scale.

Strengths

  • Combined transactional and marketing email in one platform
  • SMTP relay for gradual migration
  • Large IP pool and established sender reputation
  • Template engine with visual editor
Best for: Teams that need both transactional and marketing email under one provider and can accept legacy API patterns.
Pricing: 60-day trial (100/day), Essentials from $19.95/mo, Pro from $89.95/mo

5. Amazon SES

Low-level email sending service from AWS. Very cheap at high volume but requires you to build everything else yourself: tracking, analytics, webhooks, and bounce handling.

Strengths

  • Lowest cost per email at very high volumes
  • Deep AWS ecosystem integration
  • Full control over sending infrastructure
  • Pay-per-use pricing with no monthly minimums
Best for: Teams with dedicated DevOps resources who want maximum control and minimal per-email cost.
Pricing: $0.10 per 1,000 emails (no free tier outside AWS Free Tier)

6. Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)

Transactional email add-on for Mailchimp. Requires a Mailchimp account. Good for teams already using Mailchimp for marketing.

Strengths

  • Tight integration with Mailchimp marketing tools
  • Template system shared with Mailchimp
  • Established delivery infrastructure
Best for: Teams already using Mailchimp for marketing who want to add transactional email.
Pricing: Requires Mailchimp plan. Transactional blocks from $20 per 25,000 emails

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about choosing an email platform.

More alternatives

Resend alternatives

Looking for a Resend alternative? Compare the top transactional email platforms for developers.

SendGrid alternatives

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