Enterprise-grade deliverability without the complexity

Mailgun vs. Bird Email

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.

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Why Sinch Mailgun?

Top reasons team choose 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 

Image for Top reasons team choose Mailgun
Join over 150,000 businesses, including 8 of the 10 largest tech companies in the world

Start Fast, Scale Confidently

Email that scales without slowing you down

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 

A graphic illustration of an email verification along with the statistics behind it.

Get Emails Into The Inbox

Built for deliverability, not just delivery

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: 

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Easy-To-Use

Compare features: Mailgun vs. Bird Email

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. 

Feature
Mailgun
Bird Email
Free plan
100 emails/day (no expiration)
Up to 500 emails/mo with daily limit of 100 emails
Paid plans
From $15/mon (10k emails)
From $20/mo (50k emails)
Dedicated IPs
Included on paid plans
Available at higher-tiers/add-ons
Email Validation
✅ Yes — has an email validation API for single and bulk validation
✅ Yes — has a built-in Recipient Validation API you can call
Data residency/regions
EU + US in one account
May require separate accounts
Developer support
Modern SDKs, fast time-to-send
Steeper learning curve
Attachment Limit
25 MB
20 MB

Developer Experience

API design, docs, and integration speed

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.

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Pricing Comparison

Transparent, predictable, and built for growth

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. 

Mailgun
Bird Email
Free Plan: 100 emails/day (no expiration)
Free test accounts are designed to try Bird Email; however, test accounts allow limited sending volume (no specific limits documented)
$15/month for 10k emails
Pay-As-You-Go usage based emails $1.50 per 1,000 emails
$35/month for 50k emails
$20-75/month for 50k emails
$90/month for 100k emails (dedicated IP included)
Dedicated IPs and advanced deliverability analytics require higher tier plans or add-ons

Compliance and Security

Trust, flexibility, and third-party proof

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.

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Mailgun vs. Bird Email Compliance

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. 

Compare Security & Compliance

Mailgun
Bird Email
SOC 2 Type II compliant
✅ Yes 
✅ Yes 
GDPR compliant
✅ Yes 
✅ Yes 
HIPAA-eligible
✅ Yes 
✅ Yes 
CCPA compliant
✅ Yes 
✅ Yes 
EU + US data residency
✅
Available in same account
⚠️
Typically available via separate accounts
Transparent security documentation
✅ Yes 
✅ Yes 
Chosen and loved by 40,000+ brands across the world
3000+ reviews
400+ reviews
400+ reviews

Migration guide

How to migrate from Bird Email to Mailgun

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?

Top reasons teams choose 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

Image for Top reasons teams choose Mailgun

Why Bird Email?

Top reasons teams choose 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

Image for Top reasons teams choose Bird Email
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.
Photo of Michael Sacca
Michael Sacca Vice President of Product at Dribbble
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!
M. Cain Individual user
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!
Lee P. Founder, small business

FAQS

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Explore beyond Bird Email

Mailgun has a variety of features for developers to companies with large lists and bulk sending needs.

Solutions

Ensure every email hits the inbox
Email deliverability
Email list management
Email analytics

Use Cases

Read how other companies are using Mailgun
Email testing tool
Check sender reputation
Email reputation check

Last updated January 2026.