Mailgun vs Twilio SendGrid

Updated November 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Mailgun

Email API and SMTP service for developers, with email validation and inbound routing.

Free plan + paid

Visit Mailgun Mailgun profile

Twilio SendGrid

Email API and SMTP relay for app email, plus a separate tool for marketing campaigns.

Paid

Visit Twilio SendGrid Twilio SendGrid profile

The short answer

Mailgun and Twilio SendGrid are both developer email APIs with SMTP relays. Mailgun suits developers who want a permanent free plan, inbound email routing and an email validation API from one vendor. SendGrid suits companies sending very large volumes that also want a drag-and-drop Marketing Campaigns tool. The biggest difference: Mailgun keeps a free plan of 100 emails a day, while SendGrid's free allowance is a 60-day trial.

Mailgun or Twilio SendGrid: our take

For sending transactional mail such as receipts, password resets and alerts, the two work much the same way: a REST API or SMTP relay, SDKs for common languages, and handling of bounces, tracking and delivery. Mailgun leans further into developer tooling. It parses inbound email and forwards it to your app through routes and webhooks, sells an email validation API for cleaning lists, and its Optimize tools add inbox placement tests and blocklist monitoring. SendGrid, owned by Twilio, emphasises scale, at 205+ billion emails a month with a 99.99% uptime SLA and dedicated IPs on higher tiers.

The products split on marketing. SendGrid has a separate Marketing Campaigns product with a drag-and-drop editor, templates, list management and simple automations, though it's billed separately from the Email API. Mailgun has no visual campaign editor of its own; its parent Sinch sells Mailjet for that.

Pricing models differ at the low end. Mailgun's free plan allows 100 emails a day indefinitely, which suits testing and tiny apps, and paid plans start at $35/month for 50,000 emails, with extra emails billed per thousand. SendGrid gives new accounts 100 emails a day for 60 days, after which a paid plan is required; pricing scales with volume. SendGrid's site and console have also moved into Twilio's, which some users find makes docs and pricing harder to find.

Choose Mailgun for side projects, apps that need to receive and parse email, or teams that want validation and deliverability checks from the same vendor. Choose SendGrid if you send at very large scale, want an uptime SLA and dedicated IPs, or want marketers to run newsletters from the same account.

Choose Mailgun if…

Developers who need a reliable email API with inbound routing and address validation
You want a free option (Twilio SendGrid is paid only)
Permanent free plan with 100 emails a day
Inbound email parsing and routing to your app

Choose Twilio SendGrid if…

Companies sending high volumes of app email that also want basic marketing campaigns from the same vendor
Handles very large sending volumes
REST API and SMTP relay with SDKs for most languages

What is Mailgun?

Mailgun is an email sending service aimed at developers. Apps send transactional mail such as sign-up confirmations, receipts and alerts through its REST API or SMTP relay, and Mailgun handles queuing, delivery, bounces, tracking and logs. It also parses inbound email and forwards it to your app through routes and webhooks, and sells an email validation API for cleaning address lists. Optimize tools add inbox placement tests, blocklist monitoring and reputation checks. Mailgun is part of Sinch, which also owns Mailjet. There is a free plan that allows 100 emails a day for testing and small projects, and paid plans are monthly with a set email allowance and per-thousand overage, starting with a one-month free trial on the Foundation tier. It is a hosted service with SDKs for common languages. It suits developers who want more control and logging than a marketing-first tool gives, though it has no visual campaign editor of its own.

What is Twilio SendGrid?

SendGrid, owned by Twilio, is one of the most widely used services for sending email from software. Developers connect through a REST API or SMTP relay to send receipts, password resets, notifications and other transactional mail, and SendGrid handles authentication, IP reputation, bounces and delivery analytics. A separate Marketing Campaigns product gives marketers a drag-and-drop editor, templates, list management and simple automations for newsletters and promotions. Its website has been merged into Twilio's, and accounts are managed through Twilio's console. Pricing scales with sending volume; new accounts get a 60-day free trial of 100 emails a day, after which a paid plan is required, and higher tiers add dedicated IPs and more support. It is a hosted service with SDKs for most languages. It suits companies that want a proven sender at very large scale, while smaller developers often prefer Postmark's focus on transactional speed or Mailgun's free tier.

Side by side

Attribute	Mailgun	Twilio SendGrid
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Web	Web
Best for	Developers who need a reliable email API with inbound routing and address validation	Companies sending high volumes of app email that also want basic marketing campaigns from the same vendor
Status	Active	Active

Verified facts, compared

Facts both apps publish, checked on each vendor's own site.

Fact	Mailgun	Twilio SendGrid
Free trial	1 month (Foundation and Scale)	100 emails/day for 60 days