Transactional email APIs · Comparison
Mailgun vs SendGrid
2 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Mailgun | SendGrid |
|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Compliance includedSOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 for Mailgun itself, US or EU sending from one account, and SAML SSO included at $90. | Compliance includedSAML SSO, a dedicated IP and EU data residency together on one self-serve plan at $89.95, with SOC 2 Type 2 across every plan. |
| Overall score | 7.5Best | 6.0 |
| Free option | Free plan | 60-day free trial |
| Card to start | –Not measured | No card needed |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $15/mo | $19.95/mo |
| Pricing model | Tiered | Tiered |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices |
| Free plan | 100 a day, 1 user | No; 60-day trial, 100 a day |
| Price for 50,000 emails/mo | $35 (Foundation) | $19.95 (Essentials) |
| Retention on the entry paid plan | 1 day of logs (Basic) | 3 days of email activity (Essentials) |
| SOC 2 report | Type II, plus ISO 27001 | Type 2 (Twilio, all services), on request |
| EU option | US or EU sending region | EU data residency on Pro, via EU subusers |
| SSO | SAML on Scale ($90) | SAML on Pro ($89.95) |
| HIPAA BAA | Not mentioned | No; not on Twilio's HIPAA-eligible list |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Mailgun is the most complete compliance package of the three, with an EU sending region and SSO on its $90 plan. On smaller plans, plan around short log retention. | From its public pages, SendGrid fits teams that want EU data residency, SSO and a dedicated IP on one self-serve plan. Check the 3-day history on Essentials and ask for the overage rate first. |
Evidence: Mailgun: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; SendGrid: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our SendGrid review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick SendGrid when
- You need EU data residency rather than an EU sending region, a dedicated IP included at $89.95, or inbound parsing on every plan.
- Pick Mailgun when
- You want a free plan that does not expire, ISO 27001, published overage rates, or 30 days of logs on the $90 plan.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- MailgunLowest priceBasic$15/mo10,000 emails/mo, then $1.80 per 1,000
- No daily limit
- 1 custom domain
- 1-day log retention
- SendGridEssentials$19.95/mo50,000 emails/mo ($34.95 for 100,000); overage rate not listed
- 2 event webhooks
- 1 teammate
- 3 days of email activity
- Activity history add-on (30 days)
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Mailgun 2026-10-15, SendGrid 2026-10-15.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- MailgunSelf-serve sign-up; the highest score of the 2 self-serve products here (7.5/10).
- If you want to try it without entering a card
- SendGrid60-day free trial, no card needed; scored 6.0/10.
- Lowest starter price
- Mailgun$15/mo for the Basic plan.
- Highest overall score
- Mailgun7.5/10 (Good). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score
Full reviews
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