Enterprise-grade deliverability without the complexity
Looking for a Bird alternative? Teams switching to Mailgun want a strong sending foundation – but with simpler workflows, broader deliverability tooling, and built-in multi-region support. Bird Email (formerly SparkPost) remains a powerful email-API platform, but for many dev-led teams scaling fast, Mailgun offers a clearer path.
Why Sinch Mailgun?
Built-in email validation, bulk & list health tools
HIPAA-ready, SOC 2, GDPR, CCPA compliance available
30-day log retention and full deliverability dashboards
EU plus US data residency in one account
Developer-first API, simple onboarding
Dedicated IPs available at paid tiers
Start Fast, Scale Confidently
Bird Email is known for enterprise-grade sending and deep analytics, but many customers report higher complexity and hidden add-ons. Mailgun supports senders of all sizes while reducing friction with a clean API, fewer external components, and built-in deliverability features.
Free plan with 100 emails/day, no time limit
Straightforward paid plans that scale with volume
Developer-friendly SDKs and docs
Dedicated IPs and deliverability support available
Get Emails Into The Inbox
Deliverability isn’t just about hitting inboxes. It’s about staying there, scaling reputation, avoiding traps, and controlling your sender health.
Bird Email offers strong analytics and predictive tools, but many users report that deeper deliverability workflows (like list-validation, long-term tracking) require add-ons or higher plan tiers.
Mailgun offers:
Email list validation & cleanup
Dedicated IPs included on paid plans
Inbox-placement monitoring, blocklist alerts, reputation dashboards
30-day log retention for deeper insight
Easy-To-Use
A head-to-head look at the features buyers care about most.
Mailgun offers broader deliverability tools, easier onboarding, and more flexible data routing, without separate accounts or external vendors.
Developer Experience
Mailgun stands out above competitors – including Bird Email – for developers.
More intuitive API
Longer log retention
Easy-to-use sandbox and test mode
Built-in validation + deliverability tools
Robust, developer-friendly documentation for popular SDKs, including Go, Node.js, PHP, Java, Ruby, and Python.
Pricing Comparison
Bottom line: Bird Email offers competitive entry pricing, but Mailgun’s predictable plan structure, included features, and built-in deliverability tools often offer better value at scale.
Compliance and Security
Both Mailgun and Bird Email meet the core compliance and security standards expected of enterprise-grade email platforms. Where they differ is less about certifications – and more about how those standards are implemented, validated, and experienced day to day by teams.
Both platforms meet modern compliance requirements, but Mailgun offers a more flexible operational model for global teams – particularly when managing data residency, environments, and regions without account fragmentation.
In addition, Mailgun consistently earns higher visibility and sentiment across developer and buyer review platforms like G2, TrustRadius, and TrustPilot – reinforcing its reputation as a trusted, developer-first email infrastructure provider.
Migration guide
Moving from Bird Email to Mailgun is straightforward. Most developers complete setup in under an hour with our migration guide.
Mailgun’s support team can assist with onboarding, deliverability consultation, and IP warmup planning.
Migration checklist:
Export templates and variables — Download your templates and make sure template variables and API fields are mapped correctly between providers.
Map events and webhooks — Review delivery, open, bounce, and failure events, then update any webhook consumers or analytics pipelines that rely on them.
Update DNS (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Warm up new IPs and domains —increase sending volume gradually (for example, 1k/day to 10k/day and beyond) while monitoring blocklists and inbox placement.
Validate deliverability before full cutover — Compare inbox placement between providers and keep your previous provider active until you’re confident in performance.
Test sandbox mode
Enable logging and tracking
Why Sinch Mailgun?
Choose Mailgun if you want:
Developer-first REST API and SDKs in 5+ languages
Advanced deliverability optimization, regional data residency, and deep analytics
Transparent, predictable pricing with free tier (100 emails/day)
A balanced solution for both developers and product teams
Longer log retention
EU + US regions in one account
Simpler onboarding & better support
Why Bird Email?
Choose Bird Email if you:
Are already deeply integrated into Bird/SparkPost infrastructure
Need SMS/MMS, WhatsApp, and other messaging tools
Need predictive analytics and ML-driven deliverability modeling
Need enterprise-level solutions; not as friendly for senders of all sizes
For us, at the volume we’re sending – every fraction of a percentage means a potential customer, and as a community of designers, it’s our job to create meaningful touchpoints. High deliverability ensures that our messages and our reach are seen; any improvement in our email program has a huge effect on our business.
I switched from SendGrid to Mailgun and am so glad that I did! Yahoo began rejecting our transactional messages from SendGrid. I switched to Mailgun and all transactional messages are delivered 100%. Mailgun was very easy to setup and test. I encountered one provisioning error, which Mailgun had fixed within ONE hour on a Saturday evening! Outstanding service. I highly recommend Mailgun and wish we had used it from the start. Thank you, Mailgun!
Mailgun has great ability in email delivery. It’s also really reliable as I have not heard my website users complaining about not receiving emails. The sort of new intuitive design makes me like Mailgun even more!
FAQS
Bird Email is the new name for SparkPost following its rebrand. Functionally, the platform remains SparkPost with updated branding.
Bird Email offers strong analytics, but Mailgun provides a more complete deliverability suite with validation, inbox placement testing, and monitoring tools built in.
Yes, but Mailgun includes one on paid plans, while Bird Email offers them only on higher tiers.
Mailgun. Developers consistently note simpler APIs, better logs, easier multi-region setup, and faster onboarding.
Mailgun offers free and low-volume plans suitable for developers or startups. Mailgun’s predictable model scales easily as email needs change and evolve.
Bird’s pricing is based on usage- and contact-based, better suited for enterprise or multi-channel campaigns.
Mailgun has a free tier with limited daily sends. Bird provides a trial, but exact limits require signup or sales contact.
Mailgun provides tiered support depending on plan. Bird offers dedicated consulting and enterprise support, particularly for high-volume and multi-channel campaigns.
Mailgun has a variety of features for developers to companies with large lists and bulk sending needs.
More than just sending email
Email deliverability services
Email deliverability experts
Blocklist monitoring service
Ensure every email hits the inbox
Email deliverability
Email list management
Email analytics
Read how other companies are using Mailgun
Email testing tool
Check sender reputation
Email reputation check
Last updated January 2026.