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Mailgun vs Postmark
Comparing two transactional email platforms on pricing, features, free tier, and trade-offs.
Quick summary
Mailgun — Transactional email API service. Mailgun offers powerful transactional email APIs with email validation and routing capabilities.
Postmark — Fast, reliable email delivery. Postmark specializes in transactional email with industry-leading delivery speed and clean analytics.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Mailgun | Postmark |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | $15/mo | $15/mo (10k) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | No |
| Webhooks | Yes | Yes |
| Free Tier | 100 emails/day (trial) | 100 emails/mo |
| React Email | No | No |
| Batch Sending | Yes | Yes |
| Inbound Email | Yes | Yes |
| EU Data Residency | Yes | Yes |
Mailgun
Transactional email API service
Pros
- Good deliverability
- Powerful routing
- Email validation add-on
Cons
- Pricing complexity
- Free trial only, no permanent free tier
Postmark
Fast, reliable email delivery
Pros
- Fastest transactional delivery
- Clean, focused UI
- Reliable
Cons
- No marketing email features
- Smaller free tier
Which should you choose?
Choose Mailgun if a free tier is important for your stage, and you need production-grade features and are ready to pay. Choose Postmark if a free tier is important for your stage, and you need production-grade features and are ready to pay.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Mailgun or Postmark?
There is no universal “better.” For most teams, Postmark is the safer default because Postmark has a larger community and more third-party integrations, which often translates to better long-term support. For edge cases, the comparison table above highlights where each tool wins.
Is Mailgun cheaper than Postmark?
Mailgun starts at $15/mo, while Postmark starts at $15/mo (10k). Exact costs depend on usage — check both vendors' calculators before committing.
Can I migrate from Mailgun to Postmark?
Migration difficulty depends on how deeply Mailgun-specific features (APIs, SDK conventions, data schemas) are baked into your app. Most transactional email migrations take days to weeks. Both vendors typically publish migration guides — check their docs.
Is Mailgun or Postmark open source?
No — both Mailgun and Postmark are proprietary managed services. If open source is a requirement, see our alternatives pages.
Does Mailgun or Postmark have a free tier?
Both Mailgun and Postmark offer a free tier.
Which is best for startups and indie hackers?
Startups usually optimize for the lowest friction to ship and the cheapest possible free tier. The one with the most generous free tier here is Postmark. For production workloads, revisit the trade-offs in the feature table above.