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Email Marketing Comparison

Mailgun vs. Twilio SendGrid

At a glance

At a glance

Mailgun

Best for

Best for engineering teams sending at high volume that need an API and SMTP relay, with the option of an EU data centre.

  • Freelancers
  • Small and mid-sized
  • Enterprise

Twilio SendGrid

Best for

Best for product and engineering teams that need transactional email at volume and want marketing campaigns on the same account.

  • Freelancers
  • Small and mid-sized
  • Enterprise

Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.

Full Comparison

Criterion Mailgun Twilio SendGrid
Starting price Free tier; Basic from $15 / month Basic $15 per month for 10,000 emails, Foundation $35 for 50,000 and Scale $90 for 100,000, then Enterprise on request. Overage is $1.80 per 1,000 on Basic and Foundation and $1.10 on Scale. Foundation and Scale are free for the first month. From $15 / month Marketing Campaigns Basic starts at $15 per month, the Email API Essentials plan at $19.95 per month. Both scale in bands by contact count and monthly email volume.
Free trial Free tier: 100 emails per day 60-day free trial, 100 emails per day and 100 contacts
API Yes, RESTful email API and SMTP relay, with official SDKs for Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, C#, Node.js and Go Yes, REST API and SMTP relay with SDKs for Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java, C# and JavaScript, plus event webhooks
Hosting Cloud (SaaS), with data centres in the US and the EU Cloud (SaaS)
Campaign types Transactional and bulk sending over the RESTful API or the SMTP relay, batch sending of up to 1,000 personalised messages per call, scheduled messages, and inbound routing that parses received mail into UTF-8 JSON Email only, split between transactional sending through the Email API and marketing sends through Marketing Campaigns
Automation and journeys No journey builder. Sends are triggered by your own application, with message scheduling and Send Time Optimization placing individual messages when a recipient is most likely to engage. Yes, automated recurring emails and time-based drip series, available on the Marketing Campaigns Advanced plan
Segmentation and personalisation Per-recipient personalisation through batch sending, which substitutes recipient variables for up to 1,000 addresses in a single API call; mailing lists are documented in the user manual. Yes, dynamic segments over contact lists with custom fields and opt-out preference management
Templates and editor Reusable templates, documented in the user manual alongside mailing lists, batch sending and scheduling; there is no drag-and-drop campaign designer in the sending product Yes, a drag-and-drop design editor and a custom HTML editor, with a library of free responsive templates
Deliverability and testing Authentication covers SPF, DKIM, DMARC and BIMI, with suppression management and an email validation API. Deeper tooling sits in Mailgun Optimize, priced separately: inbox placement testing down to the tab or folder, blocklist and spam trap monitoring with Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS integration, preview rendering on 100+ devices and clients, and deliverability consulting. One dedicated IP is included from Foundation; extra IPs are $59 per month. Yes, inbox rendering previews, spam testing and link validation, plus dedicated IPs, domain authentication and SPF, DKIM and DMARC
Ecommerce and CRM data No store or CRM data model of its own; orders and customer records stay in the system they come from. The integrations directory connects Salesforce, Salesforce Agentforce Marketing, HubSpot, SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition and WordPress, whose free Mailgun plugin also carries the mail from plugins running on it such as WooCommerce. Shopify runs through Zapier rather than a Shopify app, triggering on events such as a new order to send a message or add the customer to a Mailgun list. Contact lists with custom fields, and signup forms that add subscribers to those lists in real time through the API
Integrations and API Yes, RESTful email API and SMTP relay, plus an SMTP API for finer sending control, webhooks for real-time event data and an email validation API. Official SDKs for Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, C#, Node.js and Go. Yes, REST API and SMTP relay, SDKs for seven languages and event webhooks for real-time delivery events
Deployment Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
Support Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat Email helpdesk, Chat, Phone
Onboarding Documentation and knowledge base more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Guided onboarding
Company size Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
Integrations Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce, SAP S/4HANA, Zapier, Make, n8n, Pipedream, Workato, Slack, Asana, Google Analytics, Datadog, Splunk, Heroku, GitHub Actions, Replit, Lovable Not stated

Compare more tools

Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.

The short version

Key Differences

  • Starting price Mailgun Free tier; Basic from $15 / month Twilio SendGrid From $15 / month
  • Free trial Mailgun Free tier: 100 emails per day Twilio SendGrid 60-day free trial, 100 emails per day and 100 contacts
  • Hosting Mailgun Cloud (SaaS), with data centres in the US and the EU Twilio SendGrid Cloud (SaaS)
  • Support Mailgun Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat Twilio SendGrid Email helpdesk, Chat, Phone
  • API Mailgun Yes, RESTful email API and SMTP relay, with official SDKs for Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, C#, Node.js and Go Twilio SendGrid Yes, REST API and SMTP relay with SDKs for Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java, C# and JavaScript, plus event webhooks

Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.

The trade-offs

Strengths and Limitations

Mailgun

Strengths

  • RESTful API and SMTP relay as two routes into the same sending infrastructure
  • Batch sending of up to 1,000 fully personalised messages in one API call
  • Data centres in both the US and the EU
  • Official SDKs for seven languages
  • Inbound routing parses received mail into UTF-8 JSON for other systems

Limitations

  • Log retention is one day on Free and Basic and five days on Foundation
  • Deliverability tooling sits in Mailgun Optimize and is priced separately from sending
  • No journey or campaign builder; marketing automation lives in the sibling product Mailjet
  • Additional dedicated IPs cost $59 per month each
  • Phone and chat support require the Scale plan
  • Messages sent in test mode are still charged

Twilio SendGrid

Strengths

  • Transactional and marketing email on one account, so both build the same sender reputation
  • Deliverability tooling included: dedicated IPs, domain authentication, SPF, DKIM and DMARC, plus inbox rendering and spam tests
  • SDKs for Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java, C# and JavaScript, alongside SMTP relay and event webhooks
  • Real-time and bulk email address validation

Limitations

  • Email only, other channels mean buying a separate Twilio product
  • Automation in Marketing Campaigns requires the Advanced plan
  • The free offering is a 60-day trial, not a standing free tier
  • Two separate price ladders to compare, one per product

Plans

Pricing

Mailgun

  • Free $0 100 emails per day, with one day of log and message retention and knowledge centre support only.
  • Basic $15 Per month for 10,000 emails, overage $1.80 per 1,000. One day of log and message retention, ticket support.
  • Foundation $35 Per month for 50,000 emails, free for the first month, overage $1.80 per 1,000. Five days of log retention and one dedicated IP included.
  • Scale $90 Per month for 100,000 emails, free for the first month, overage $1.10 per 1,000. 30 days of log retention, up to seven days of message retention, phone and chat support.
  • Enterprise Not stated Custom pricing on request.
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Twilio SendGrid

  • Free trial $0 60 days. 100 emails per day and 100 contacts, with analytics and deliverability optimisation.
  • Email API Essentials $19.95 Per month, from 50,000 emails. Analytics, deliverability optimisation, one additional teammate and up to two event webhooks.
  • Email API Pro $89.95 Per month, from 100,000 emails and up to 2.5 million. Dedicated IP, subuser management, SSO, five event webhooks and included email validations.
  • Email API Premier Not stated Custom pricing for volumes above 5 million emails per month, with dedicated support.
  • Marketing Campaigns Basic $15 Per month, from 5,000 contacts and 15,000 emails. Ten email testing credits, five signup forms, ticket, chat and phone support.
  • Marketing Campaigns Advanced $60 Per month, from 10,000 contacts and 50,000 emails. Adds automation, dedicated IP access, 60 email testing credits and 15 signup forms.
  • Marketing Campaigns Custom Not stated Negotiated with sales for volumes above the Advanced plan.
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What users say

Review Scores · opens after launch

Mailgun

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

Twilio SendGrid

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

Where this comes from

Where this comes from

Mailgun https://www.mailgun.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-09

Twilio SendGrid https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sendgrid · checked against the official source on 2026-09-07

This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.