How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Mailgun starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails, with a free tier of 100 emails per day, so alternatives compete on deliverability, API quality and price at volume.
- Amazon SES is the cheapest at scale at $0.10 per 1,000 emails, while Postmark leads on deliverability speed and Resend leads on developer experience.
- Brevo offers the best free tier at 300 emails per day, and it is the only tool here that also handles marketing email properly alongside transactional.
- Most services bill by email volume, not contacts, so model your monthly volume and overage rates, not just the headline tier.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 SendGrid | High volume with support | $19.95 per month (up to 50,000 emails) | Trial (60 days) |
 Postmark | Deliverability and speed | $15 per month (10,000 emails) | Yes (100 emails per month) |
 Amazon SES | Lowest cost at scale | $0.10 per 1,000 emails | Yes (3,000 per month for the first 12 months) |
 Resend | Developers and modern APIs | $20 per month (Pro, 50,000 emails) | Yes (3,000 emails per month) |
 Brevo | Free tier plus marketing email | $9 per month (Starter, 5,000 emails) | Yes (300 emails per day) |
 Mailjet | Template collaboration | $9 per month (Starter, 8,000 emails) | Yes (6,000 emails per month) |
 Mailtrap | Testing plus production sending | $15 per month (10,000 emails) | Yes (4,000 emails per month) |
 SMTP2GO | Simple SMTP relay | $10 per month (10,000 emails) | Yes (1,000 emails per month) |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best Mailgun alternatives
Starting price$19.95 per month (up to 50,000 emails)
Free planTrial (60 days)
SendGrid, by Twilio, is the high-volume incumbent, with plans from $19.95 per month covering up to 50,000 emails in one guide and up to 100,000 in another, plus a 60-day trial at 100 emails per day. Its SDK ecosystem is the largest in the category, and a dedicated IP comes on Pro plans.
SendGrid killed its free plan and moved much pricing to sales-led models in 2026 after the Twilio acquisition, so some tiers require a sales conversation. SendGrid fits companies that want transactional and marketing email from one large vendor, with ecosystem depth and support at scale.
What we like- Largest SDK ecosystem
- Dedicated IP on Pro
- High-volume support
- Twilio stack integration
Watch out for- Free plan removed, only a 60-day trial
- Much pricing moved to sales-led models in 2026
- Per-1,000 cost higher than SES
Starting price$15 per month (10,000 emails)
Free planYes (100 emails per month)
Postmark is the deliverability-first choice, with separate sending streams for transactional and broadcast mail, time-to-inbox streams, and a reputation for the fastest inbox delivery in independent comparisons. Basic costs $15 per month for 10,000 emails, with overage at $1.20 to $1.80 per 1,000, and a free tier of 100 emails per month.
It is a pure transactional tool with no marketing email, and its per-1,000 cost at 100,000 volume sits near $1.30, well above SES. Postmark fits teams where deliverability speed matters most, such as password resets, invoices and receipts that must arrive in seconds.
What we like- Most reliable option for deliverability speed
- Separate sending streams for transactional and broadcast
- Time-to-inbox visibility
Watch out for- Free tier only 100 emails per month
- Per-1,000 cost near $1.30 at 100,000 volume
- No marketing email
Starting price$0.10 per 1,000 emails
Free planYes (3,000 per month for the first 12 months)
Amazon SES is the cheapest transactional service at scale, at $0.10 per 1,000 emails, with 3,000 free emails per month for the first 12 months for new accounts and dedicated IPs at $24.95 per month. At 100,000 emails per month it costs about $16, against $115 at Postmark and $90 at Resend in one cost table.
The trade is tooling: SES gives raw sending infrastructure, and deliverability monitoring, templates and analytics need building or third-party tools. SES fits engineering teams on AWS sending high volume who will build their own tooling, and who prioritise cost over convenience.
What we like- Cheapest at scale by far
- AWS-native
- Dedicated IPs at $24.95 per month
- 99.9 percent uptime SLA
Watch out for- Setup needs engineering effort
- Minimal tooling out of the box
- Deliverability management is your job
#4Resend
Best for: Developers and modern APIs4.8/5 on
G2 (10 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit resend.com
Starting price$20 per month (Pro, 50,000 emails)
Free planYes (3,000 emails per month)
Resend is the developer-first modern API, with a clean API, React Email for building templates in code, good documentation, and a free tier of 3,000 emails per month at 100 per day. Pro costs $20 per month for 50,000 emails, with overage at $0.90 per 1,000, and Scale adds a dedicated IP at $30 per month.
Its per-1,000 cost at 100,000 volume sits near $0.90, above SES and SendGrid but below Postmark. Resend fits product teams building modern React and Next.js apps who want a pleasant API and are willing to pay more than SES for developer experience.
What we like- Clean modern API
- React Email integration
- Pleasant developer experience
- 3,000 free emails per month
Watch out for- Higher per-1,000 cost near $0.90 at 100,000 volume
- Dedicated IP costs $30 per month on Scale
- Limited uptime SLA
#5Brevo
Best for: Free tier plus marketing email4.5/5 on
G2 (2,747 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit brevo.com
Starting price$9 per month (Starter, 5,000 emails)
Free planYes (300 emails per day)
Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, is the combined transactional plus marketing option, with a free tier of 300 emails per day, about 9,000 per month, and Starter at $9 per month for 5,000 emails in one guide, or $17 per month for 10,000 in another. SMS, WhatsApp and CRM features round out a small-business marketing suite.
Monthly volume is shared with marketing email, so heavy marketing sends eat transactional allowance. Brevo fits SMBs that want transactional and marketing email under one roof with the best free tier in the category.
What we like- Best free tier at 300 emails per day
- Only tool here handling marketing email properly alongside transactional
- SMS and WhatsApp plus CRM
Watch out for- Monthly volume shared with marketing email
- $17 per month in another guide for 10,000 emails
- Enterprise dedicated IP only
#6Mailjet
Best for: Template collaboration3.9/5 on
G2 (176 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit mailjet.com
Starting price$9 per month (Starter, 8,000 emails)
Free planYes (6,000 emails per month)
Mailjet suits teams that collaborate on templates, with a team editor, approval workflows, European data residency, and simple SMTP with a user interface. The free tier covers 6,000 emails per month at 200 per day, Starter costs $9 per month for 8,000 emails in one guide, and $17 per month for 15,000 in another.
Some tiers moved behind sales contact in 2026, so confirm current pricing. Mailjet fits European teams needing data residency and template collaboration, and small teams that want a simple SMTP service with a proper interface.
What we like- Team template editor with approvals
- European data residency
- Simple SMTP with a UI
- Free tier of 6,000 per month
Watch out for- Some tiers moved behind sales contact in 2026
- $17 per month for 15,000 emails in another guide
- Smaller ecosystem than SendGrid
#7Mailtrap
Best for: Testing plus production sending4.8/5 on
G2 (77 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit mailtrap.io
Starting price$15 per month (10,000 emails)
Free planYes (4,000 emails per month)
Mailtrap covers both email testing and production sending, with transactional and bulk traffic on separate IP pools by default on every plan, including the free tier, plus per-provider delivery analytics and inbound mail on the same account. Free tier covers 4,000 emails per month, Basic costs $15 per month for 10,000, and 100,000 emails cost $30 per month in one guide.
Its delivery data is treated as a product feature rather than a webhook stream you must parse yourself. Mailtrap fits teams sending both transactional and bulk email from one product who want per-provider delivery data without building the tooling for it.
What we like- Testing plus production in one product
- Per-provider analytics
- Separate streams on every plan
- Inbound on the same account
Watch out for- $30 per month for 100,000 emails in one guide against $15 for 10,000 in another
- Newer brand than SendGrid
#8SMTP2GO
Best for: Simple SMTP relay4.7/5 on
G2 (226 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit smtp2go.com
Starting price$10 per month (10,000 emails)
Free planYes (1,000 emails per month)
SMTP2GO is the simple SMTP relay, with a free tier of 1,000 emails per month, paid plans from $10 per month for 10,000 emails, top tested placement in one comparison, and phone support that larger vendors rarely offer. Its simplicity suits teams that want a reliable relay without API complexity.
Developer features and analytics are thinner than Resend, Mailgun or Mailtrap, and the ecosystem is smaller. SMTP2GO fits teams that need a straightforward, well-supported SMTP relay at a low price, especially those migrating from a basic mail server.
What we like- Simple SMTP relay
- Top tested placement in one comparison
- Phone support
- Low entry price
Watch out for- Fewer developer features than Resend or Mailgun
- Smaller ecosystem
- Analytics thinner than Mailtrap
How we chose
We ranked tools on deliverability reputation, pricing transparency, separation between transactional and marketing streams, and API quality including documentation, language SDKs and webhook support. Sources included a seven-tool transactional comparison with prices verified in July 2026, a ten-tool guide with prices pulled in May 2026, and a twelve-tool comparison verified in September 2026. Where prices conflicted across guides, the article uses the most recent figure and notes the range. We did not claim hands-on testing.
What to check before you sign
Start with the volume band and the overage rate, not the headline tier. A service that looks cheap at 10,000 emails can cost far more at 100,000: Postmark runs about $115 at 125,000 emails, Resend $90 at 100,000, SendGrid $34.95 at 100,000, and SES about $16. Model your real monthly volume plus growth before choosing.
Next, separate transactional and marketing streams. Transactional emails like password resets and invoices must not share reputation with marketing blasts, which is why Postmark's separate streams and Mailtrap's separate IP pools matter. If you send both types, either use separate streams or separate providers.
Finally, budget for deliverability, not just sending. Cheap per-thousand rates matter less than what happens when domain reputation drops: a 1-point drop in inbox placement costs more than the entire bill. Pick the service with the strongest deliverability reputation in your volume band, set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC before sending, and monitor placement by provider.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Mailgun alternative?
For deliverability speed, Postmark. For developers, Resend. For lowest cost at scale, Amazon SES. For a free tier plus marketing email, Brevo. For high volume with support, SendGrid. The right pick depends on volume, budget and whether you need marketing email too.
How much does transactional email cost?
From free tiers at Brevo, Mailjet, Mailtrap and Resend, through $9 to $20 per month for starter tiers covering 5,000 to 50,000 emails, to $0.10 per 1,000 at Amazon SES for high volume. At 100,000 emails per month, costs range from about $16 at SES to $115 at Postmark.
Does SendGrid still have a free plan?
No. SendGrid removed its free plan and now offers a 60-day trial at 100 emails per day, with paid plans from $19.95 per month. Much of its pricing moved to sales-led models in 2026.
What is the difference between transactional and marketing email?
Transactional email is triggered by a user action, such as password resets, order confirmations and invoices, and must arrive fast and reliably. Marketing email is bulk promotional mail sent to lists. They should use separate streams and reputations.
Should I use Amazon SES or Postmark?
Use SES if you send high volume on AWS and will build your own tooling, since it costs a fraction of Postmark. Use Postmark if deliverability speed and managed reputation matter more than cost, and you want separate streams and time-to-inbox visibility out of the box.
Do I need a dedicated IP?
Not at low volume: shared IPs suit small senders. At high volume, a dedicated IP gives control over reputation, but it also requires warming and management. Postmark offers dedicated IPs from $50 per month on Pro plans, SES at $24.95, and Resend at $30 on Scale.
Sources we checked (5)
- https://ventureharbour.com/transactional-email-service-best-mandrill-vs-sendgrid-vs-mailjet/
- https://albato.com/blog/publications/best-transactional-email-solutions-2024
- https://www.mailercloud.com/blog/best-transactional-email-services
- https://www.sender.net/blog/transactional-email-services/
- https://sendfox.com/compare/resend-alternatives
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.