Mailgun vs SendGrid: Email Validation vs Comprehensive Infrastructure
Comparing Mailgun and SendGrid for transactional email. Strong validation API vs proven scale and marketing features.
Overview
Mailgun and SendGrid are both established developer-focused email platforms. Mailgun stands out for email validation capabilities. SendGrid offers broader features at massive scale with Twilio backing.
| Feature | Mailgun | SendGrid |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $35/mo (50k) | $19.95/mo (50k) |
| Email Validation | Excellent API | Basic |
| Marketing Features | Basic | Full automation |
| EU Data Center | Yes | Limited |
| Scale | High | Massive |
Key Differences
Email Validation
Mailgun offers excellent email validation API. Catch invalid addresses before they hurt deliverability. For businesses collecting lots of email addresses, this prevents bounce issues and protects sender reputation.
SendGrid has basic validation but not as comprehensive. If validation is important, Mailgun's API is stronger.
Feature Breadth
SendGrid includes marketing automation alongside transactional. Sequences, campaigns, templates - a complete solution. Twilio backing means continued investment.
Mailgun focuses more narrowly on transactional sending and validation. Less feature breadth but does core functions well.
Who Should Choose What
Choose Mailgun if:
- Email validation is important for your use case
- EU data center matters (GDPR)
- You want focused transactional tooling
Choose SendGrid if:
- You need marketing features included
- Massive scale and proven infrastructure matter
- Better pricing per email is important
The Bottom Line
SendGrid generally offers better value with more features at lower pricing. Choose it unless Mailgun's specific strengths (validation, EU data center) matter for your use case.
For modern DX, consider Resend as an alternative to both.