Transactional email APIs · Comparison
Amazon SES vs Mailgun vs Resend
3 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 | Amazon SES | Mailgun | Resend |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Worth the priceEmail at $0.10 per 1,000 with no monthly fee, inside AWS’s SOC, ISO 27001 and HIPAA-eligible scope, in the region you choose. | 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 includedA SOC 2 Type II report and a pre-signed GDPR DPA on every plan, with 3,000 free emails a month and 50,000 for $20. |
| Overall score | 7.8 | 7.5 | 8.2Best |
| Free option | Free trial | Free plan | Free plan |
| Card to start | –Not measured | –Not measured | –Not measured |
| Getting access | Approval wait | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $0.10/1k emails | $15/mo | $20/mo |
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Tiered | Tiered |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Free plan | No; AWS Free Tier credits for new accounts | 100 a day, 1 user | 3,000/mo, 100 a day |
| Price for 50,000 emails/mo | $5 à la carte ($8 on Essentials), plus attachment data | $35 (Foundation) | $20 (Pro) |
| Retention on the entry paid plan | 30 days of message search in VDM (Essentials) | 1 day of logs (Basic) | 30 days |
| SOC 2 report | AWS SOC 2, from AWS Artifact | Type II, plus ISO 27001 | Type II, self-serve download |
| EU option | Seven European AWS regions; data stays in the chosen region | US or EU sending region | EU sending region; data stored in the US |
| SSO | IAM Identity Center, no extra charge | SAML on Scale ($90) | $150/mo add-on on Scale |
| HIPAA BAA | Yes, accepted in AWS Artifact | Not mentioned | No |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, SES is the least expensive way here to send at volume and carries AWS’s compliance scope, including a HIPAA BAA. Plan for the sandbox review and for setting up each region you use. | 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, Resend is the cheapest way here to send 50,000 emails a month and the easiest to clear a security review with. Check the data-residency and HIPAA limits first. |
Evidence: Amazon SES: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Mailgun: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Resend: 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 Amazon SES review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Amazon SES when
- You send in volume and want $0.10 per 1,000 with no monthly fee, a HIPAA BAA, or data kept in an EU region.
- Pick Resend when
- You want an ongoing free plan of 3,000 emails a month and to send after verifying a domain, without a production-access review.
From our Mailgun review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Mailgun when
- You need ISO 27001, an EU sending region, or SSO included at $90.
- Pick Resend when
- You want the lower price at 50,000 emails ($20 against $35) and 30 days of data retention on every plan.
From our Resend review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Resend when
- You want the lower price at 50,000 emails and compliance documents on the free plan.
- Pick Mailgun when
- You need an EU sending region with SOC 2 and ISO 27001, or SAML SSO included 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.
- Amazon SESPro$105/moPer account and region, plus $0.22 per 1,000 emails (first 10M)
- Managed dedicated IP (1 domain, 1 IP)
- Email Validation (2,500 API validations)
- Global deliverability insights
- Trend Micro scanning add-on included
- MailgunLowest priceBasic$15/mo10,000 emails/mo, then $1.80 per 1,000
- No daily limit
- 1 custom domain
- 1-day log retention
- ResendPro$20/mo50,000 emails/mo ($35 for 100,000), then $0.90 per 1,000
- No daily limit
- 10 domains
- 30-day data retention
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Amazon SES 2026-10-15, Mailgun 2026-10-15, Resend 2026-10-15.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- ResendSelf-serve sign-up; the highest score of the 2 self-serve products here (8.2/10).
- Lowest starter price
- Mailgun$15/mo for the Basic plan.
- Highest overall score
- Resend8.2/10 (Excellent). 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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