Looking to compare email services between Mailgun vs. Mailchimp Transactional Email? Choose Mailgun if you need an API-first platform with proactive deliverability and EU/US region choice. Choose Mailchimp if you already use its marketing suite and want transactional sending in the same account.
Why Sinch Mailgun?
Developer-first approach with robust APIs and webhooks
HIPAA-ready, SOC 2, GDPR, CCPA compliance available
Advanced analytics & dedicated IPs included on scale and enterprise plans
Proactive deliverability toolkit and region flexibilityÂ
Transparent, usage-based pricing without marketing plan lock-inProactive deliverability toolkit and region flexibility
Deliverability
Mailgun offers deliverability tools that go beyond simple transactional email sending. Proactively monitor, test, and optimize your inbox placement to improve engagement and sender reputation.Â
Inbox Placement seed tests preview where messages landÂ
Spam-trap and blocklist monitoring flag reputation risksÂ
DMARC reporting via Red Sift supports authentication and complianceÂ
Built For Developers
Mailgun is built for technical teams who need reliable APIs, strong logging, and granular control without a marketing suite requirement. Move fast with robust integrations and infrastructure.Â
Integrate with an easy REST API and SMTP relayÂ
Access granular logs and event webhooks (accepted, delivered, opened, clicked, failed)Â
Use inbound routing with spam filtering and JSON parsingÂ
Pricing & Flexibility
Mailgun delivers perpetual free sending for testing and fair, usage-based pricing as you grow. You never need a marketing plan and can scale features independently.Â
Start with a forever free pricing tier (100 emails/day)Â
Pay only for email volume—no marketing bundle requiredÂ
Scale with dedicated IPs and advanced deliverability tools as you growÂ
Features
See how Mailgun stacks up against Mailchimp Transactional Email (formerly Mandrill) for critical features. Mailgun stands out for developer-first controls, region flexibility, and proactive deliverability.Â
Results
Mailgun consistently outperforms industry benchmarks for delivery and engagement, while helping businesses control costs and scale value.
Delivery rate from deliverability services customers, beating the industry average of 85%
Average bounce rate. Well under the industry average bounce rate of 2%
User ratings on all major review platforms like G2 and Capterra
Pricing
Mailgun offers a perpetual free tier (100 emails/day) and transparent, usage-based pricing, so you only pay for what you send. No need for a bundled marketing suite or premium plan. Mailgun delivers advanced deliverability, dedicated IPs, and region flexibility as add-ons—ideal for technical teams and projects of any size.
Mailchimp Transactional Email requires a separate Mailchimp Standard or Premium marketing plan before you can access transactional sending, with additional costs for credits and dedicated IPs. For most developers and technical teams, Mailgun is the simpler, more cost-effective solution.Â
Use Cases
A standalone transactional email platform built for developers and product teams
Granular logs, webhooks, multi-domain/subaccount control, and usage-based pricingÂ
Integrated deliverability tools and region choice (EU/US) for compliance or latency
Scalable sending from 100k to millions/month
Use Cases
Transactional sending within your existing Mailchimp marketing account
Built-in rules engine for trigger-based workflows without code changes
A single UI for both marketing and transactional analytics
FAQs
Mailgun fits developer-led apps needing API-first control, deliverability tools, and EU/US regions. Mailchimp fits teams already using its marketing suite.
Yes. Mailchimp Transactional (formerly Mandrill) provides SMTP/API sending, but typically requires a Mailchimp Standard or Premium plan.Â
No. It’s developer-first, but the dashboard and docs are accessible to non-technical users who need reliable transactional email.Â
No. Mailgun is a standalone platform for programmatic, transactional, and marketing email. Add-on plans are not required to send marketing campaigns using Mailgun.Â
Inbox Placement seed tests, spam-trap and blocklist monitoring, built-in email validation, and free DMARC reporting via Red Sift.Â
Mailgun offers US or EU regions per domain. Mailchimp Transactional data is processed in the US.
Mailgun retains event logs for 1–30 days and message storage up to 7 days (by plan). Mailchimp stores message content for 30 days.
Yes. Mailgun’s free tier allows 100 emails/day with no time limit.
Add and verify your domains in Mailgun, set up DNS (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), switch SMTP/API credentials, and test with seed inboxes before full cutover.
Yes. Mailgun includes native email validation to reduce bounces and improve inbox placement.
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.
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!
I got onto Mailgun six years ago for our email marketing app. And I’m still sticking with Mailgun because it’s the number one for email marketing. There’s no one else.
Discover why technical teams pick Mailgun for transactional email.Â
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