Mailgun is a solid email API, but its pricing page makes you do some math: a free plan capped at 100 emails a day, Basic from $15 a month for 10,000 emails, then Foundation at $35 and Scale at $90, with overage billed per thousand emails. If you run a store and only need order confirmations, password resets, and shipping notices to land in the inbox, there are cheaper and simpler ways to do it. I teach ecommerce and high-ticket dropshipping at Ecommerce Paradise, I run my own stores, and my team builds stores for clients, so I look at email delivery the way a store owner does: what does it cost per month at the volume I really send?
Everything below comes from each vendor’s own pricing page as I reviewed it in October 2026. Where a page does not show a number, I write “not shown” instead of guessing. Prices change, so confirm them on the live page before you pay. Some links in this article are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.
If you are still choosing a business model, my guide to what high-ticket dropshipping is explains the model I teach. This article compares five Mailgun alternatives and shows when the best answer is to skip the email API and let a team set up the whole email system for you.
Mailgun Alternatives at a Glance
| Tool | Entry paid price | Free plan | Dedicated IP | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailgun | From $15 a month for 10,000 emails | 100 emails a day | $59 per extra IP a month | Developers who want an API |
| Postmark | $15 a month for 10,000 emails | 100 emails a month | From $50 per IP, add-on | Transactional email only |
| Amazon SES | $0.16 per 1,000 emails | AWS credits for new accounts | $24.95 per IP a month | Lowest cost at volume |
| Brevo | From $9 a month for 5,000 emails | 300 emails a day | Enterprise plan | Marketing and transactional in one |
| SMTP2GO | $10 a month for 10,000 emails | 1,000 emails a month | Included on Professional | Simple SMTP relay for WordPress |
| SendGrid | Not shown on the page I read | Free trial listed | Not shown | Teams already on Twilio |
These figures come from the vendors’ own pricing pages. A “not shown” means the page I read did not list that number, so ask the vendor in writing before you buy.
Would you rather have the email flows, store, and suppliers set up for you than wire together an email API? My team builds the whole store. See the done-for-you store build →
What Mailgun Costs and Where It Falls Short
The Mailgun pricing page lists Free at $0 with 100 emails a day, 1 custom sending domain, 2 API keys, and 1 day of log retention. Basic starts at $15 a month with 10,000 emails and overage from $1.80 per 1,000 emails. Foundation is listed as free for the first month, then $35 a month for 50,000 emails with overage from $1.30 per 1,000.
Scale is listed as free for the first month, then $90 a month for 100,000 emails, overage from $1.10 per 1,000, and 30 days of log retention. Enterprise has no price, only a request-a-quote button. Email validation is billed separately, from $1.20 per 100 validations on Basic and Foundation and from $0.80 on Scale.
The details that catch small stores are the extras. Additional dedicated IPs cost $59 per IP per month according to the FAQ, and Basic keeps logs for only 1 day. The page also lists Foundation as 50,000 emails while the FAQ mentions “Foundation 100k,” so the dedicated IP details for that tier are inconsistent. Ask Mailgun to confirm in writing which plan includes an IP before you pay.
How to Pick a Mailgun Alternative
Start with your real monthly volume. A store sending a few thousand order and shipping emails does not need the same plan as a business sending hundreds of thousands. Count your emails for a month before you compare plans.
Next, decide whether you need an API, an SMTP relay, or a full email marketing tool. A WordPress or WooCommerce store usually just needs an SMTP relay, while a custom app wants an API. Match the tool to the job, not to the biggest feature list.
Finally, check the extras: log retention, dedicated IP price, and what happens when you go over your limit. Overage rates in this article range from $1.80 per thousand emails on Mailgun and Postmark Basic down to $0.16 on Amazon SES, and that gap is where the real savings are.
The 5 Best Mailgun Alternatives
1. Postmark: Best for Transactional Email Only
The Postmark pricing page lists a free Developer plan with 100 emails a month. Basic is $15 a month starting at 10,000 emails with extra emails at $1.80 per 1,000. Pro is $16.50 a month with extra emails at $1.30 per 1,000, and Platform is $18 a month with extra emails at $1.20 per 1,000.
Dedicated IPs are an add-on that starts at $50 per IP, only on Pro or higher, and the page says they are for senders at 300,000 emails a month or more. Data retention is 45 days by default and can be customized up to 365 days on Pro and Platform. The page shows no trial for the paid plans.
Postmark is a good pick if all you send is transactional mail and you want long log retention at a low entry price. It is not built for newsletters, so pair it with a marketing tool if you need those.
2. Amazon SES: Best for the Lowest Cost at Volume
The Amazon SES pricing page lists Essentials at $0.16 per 1,000 emails for the first 10 million a month. Pro adds a $105 fixed fee per account per region per month, and Enterprise is $500. A standard dedicated IP is $24.95 per IP per month, and outbound attachments are $0.12 per GB.
New accounts can get up to $200 in AWS Free Tier credits, and the free plan lasts 6 months. An SES-specific free email quota is not shown. Other AWS services, such as EC2, S3, SNS, and CloudWatch, are billed separately, and that is where a beginner can lose track of the bill.
It is the cheapest per email, but it asks the most of you. You will set up your own domain authentication and monitoring, so I recommend it only if you or a developer are comfortable inside AWS.
3. Brevo: Best for Marketing and Transactional in One Tool
The Brevo transactional email page lists a free plan with 300 emails a day, which is 9,000 a month, with no credit card required. The FAQ lists Starter from $9 a month for 5,000 emails, Standard from $18 a month for 5,000 emails, and Professional from $499 a month for 150,000 emails.
Enterprise is custom pricing and lists a dedicated IP, though its price is not shown. A yearly option is listed with a 10% discount, but the yearly amounts are not shown. The main pricing page showed plan names without amounts when I read it, so the FAQ was the only source for these numbers.
Brevo covers both newsletters and order emails under one login. My Brevo alternatives guide shows how it stacks up against other platforms.
4. SMTP2GO: Best for a Simple SMTP Relay
The SMTP2GO pricing page lists a Free plan with 1,000 emails a month and says you can “try SMTP2GO free for as long as you like.” Starter is $10 a month, or $100 a year, for 10,000 emails with extra emails at $1 per 1,000. Professional is $75 a month, or $750 a year, for 100,000 emails with a dedicated IP included and extra emails at $0.85 per 1,000.
Premier is custom for over 3 million emails. Chat and phone support are limited to 14 days on the Free plan, and the page offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. The Premier entry repeats the Professional figures, which looks like a page error, so ask for a quote if you need that tier.
It is a simple setup for a WordPress store that just needs reliable order emails. You can check SMTP2GO’s plans yourself.
My SMTP2GO review covers the setup in more depth.
5. SendGrid: Best for Teams Already on Twilio
SendGrid now sits under Twilio. The Twilio SendGrid page lists a free trial with no credit card required and says it offers “transparent pricing with discounts as you scale,” but it showed no plan prices, email limits, or dedicated IP details when I read it.
Because the numbers are not shown, I will not guess them. My SendGrid alternatives guide goes deeper, and you should get a written quote before you commit.
The Option That Skips the Email API Entirely
An email API only helps once you have a store sending mail. If your real goal is a profitable high-ticket store, the question is who builds the store, the email flows, and the supplier relationships, not which relay delivers them.
That is what my done-for-you service is. The 10-supplier build is $4,997 paid in full, listed against $9,997. It includes niche selection, business formation guidance, a custom Shopify store, 10 recruited US supplier brands, catalog setup, email flows, Google Search Console setup, shopping ad setup, and bi-weekly coaching.
I want to be fair about the trade. It costs more up front and typically takes 2 to 3 months, with ads live within 90 days of onboarding. Payments are non-refundable, no revenue or profit is guaranteed, and it is not passive income. Ad spend, software, supplier payments, and taxes are separate costs.
| Question | An email API | Ecommerce Paradise done-for-you |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | A way to send email | A built Shopify store with email flows and suppliers |
| Who does the work | You or a developer | My team |
| Typical cost | $0 to $90 a month at these volumes | $4,997 one time for the build |
| Setup help | Documentation | Bi-weekly coaching |
My turnkey store review covers the service the way I review everyone else’s.
What Each Option Costs Per Year
Here is my own math from the listed prices. These are illustrations, not quotes, and they ignore overage, taxes, and add-ons.
| Tool | Plan used | Yearly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Mailgun | Basic, 10,000 emails a month | $180 |
| Mailgun | Foundation, 50,000 emails a month | $420 after the free first month |
| Mailgun | Scale, 100,000 emails a month | $1,080 after the free first month |
| Postmark | Basic, 10,000 emails a month | $180 |
| Amazon SES | Essentials, 100,000 emails a month | $192 at $0.16 per 1,000 |
| Brevo | Starter, 5,000 emails a month | $108 |
| SMTP2GO | Starter, 10,000 emails a month | $100 billed yearly |
| SMTP2GO | Professional, 100,000 emails a month | $750 billed yearly |
At 100,000 emails a month, Mailgun Scale is listed at $90 a month, while SES comes to about $16 a month before add-ons. That is a big gap, and it shows why volume matters more than a tool’s brand.
Which Option Fits Which Store
A small store sending a few thousand emails a month can start on the Mailgun, Brevo, or SMTP2GO free plans. A store that wants simple, reliable order emails can compare Postmark Basic and SMTP2GO Starter. A store that already sends newsletters can look at Brevo first.
A store with a developer and high volume can look at Amazon SES. A team already on Twilio can look at SendGrid. A seller who would rather not wire any of this together should look at the done-for-you build.
Features Worth Paying For
Authentication tools like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC support matter most for deliverability. Log retention matters when a customer says they never got their receipt. A dedicated IP matters only at high volume, and the Postmark page puts that threshold at 300,000 emails a month.
Webhooks and event tracking help if you want to see bounces and complaints. Email validation helps keep a list clean, though it is billed separately on Mailgun. Write down the two features you will use every month, then rule out anything that lacks them.
Using Email Delivery With a High-Ticket Store
High-ticket buyers expect a clear order confirmation, a shipping update, and a fast reply to questions. A missed receipt on a four-figure order creates a support ticket and sometimes a chargeback. That makes reliable transactional email worth a few extra dollars.
My high-ticket niches list shows the categories I look at first.
For marketing flows like abandoned carts and win-backs, I use Omnisend. My Omnisend pricing breakdown shows what it costs.
A Simple 30-Day Test Plan
Pick one alternative and send a real week of order emails through it. In the first week, authenticate your domain and send test messages to Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. In the second and third weeks, route your normal store mail through it.
In the last week, check bounce rates, spam placement, and how fast the logs answer a customer question. If nothing broke, you have your answer. Cancel any trial that did not earn its place.
Costs to Watch as You Grow
The first cost is overage, because Mailgun and Postmark both bill extra emails per 1,000. The second cost is the plan jump, such as Mailgun moving from $15 to $35 to $90.
The third cost is dedicated IPs, listed at $59 per IP a month on Mailgun, from $50 on Postmark, and $24.95 on SES. The fourth cost is your time, since a cheap API still needs setup and monitoring. Add these up before you commit.
Moving Away From Mailgun Safely
Add your new provider’s DNS records before you switch, and keep Mailgun’s records in place until the new ones verify. Send a batch of test messages and check they reach the inbox, not spam.
Update your store’s SMTP or API settings, then watch the logs for a few days. Do not cancel on the same day you switch. If you use a dedicated IP, remember a new IP needs a gradual warm-up.
When Mailgun Is Still the Right Pick
Mailgun suits developers who want a flexible API, and the Scale plan includes 30 days of logs and dedicated IP pools. If your app already uses it and mail lands well, you do not need to move. The free plan and the first free month on Foundation and Scale make a test cheap.
Switching providers to save a few dollars is rarely worth the risk to your deliverability. If it works, stay.
Hiring Help for Your Store
Setting up SPF, DKIM, and a mail relay is a short job for the right person. A developer or virtual assistant from OnlineJobs.ph can handle routine monitoring from a written checklist. Write your standards first, then hand the work over.
For a one-off task such as an email template design, a freelancer on Fiverr can save you time. Share access carefully and remove it when the job ends.
Common Mistakes When Choosing Email Delivery
The first mistake is buying for volume you do not send yet. The second mistake is skipping domain authentication, which hurts delivery on every provider.
The third mistake is starting before the business exists on paper. If you have not formed your company, read my guide to business formation for high-ticket dropshipping. To file an LLC quickly, Bizee is one option I recommend.
The fourth mistake is never learning how suppliers work. My guide to finding suppliers for high-ticket products shows what a real supplier relationship looks like.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Mailgun cost?
The page lists Free at $0 with 100 emails a day, Basic from $15 a month for 10,000 emails, Foundation at $35 a month for 50,000 emails, and Scale at $90 a month for 100,000 emails. Enterprise is a quote.
Does Mailgun have a free plan?
Yes. The page lists a Free plan with 100 emails a day, 1 custom sending domain, 2 API keys, and 1 day of log retention.
What is the cheapest Mailgun alternative?
Amazon SES lists $0.16 per 1,000 emails, which is the lowest per-email rate here, though other AWS services bill separately. SMTP2GO Starter at $10 a month and Brevo Starter at $9 a month are the lowest flat monthly prices I found.
Which Mailgun alternative is best for a WordPress or Shopify store?
For a WordPress store, SMTP2GO is a simple relay to set up. For a store that also sends newsletters, Brevo covers both in one tool.
Do I need an email API to launch a store?
Not at the start. Your store platform sends order emails on its own, and my done-for-you build includes the email flows so you are not wiring anything together.
Final Verdict on Mailgun Alternatives
Mailgun is a capable API, and its tiered pricing and dedicated IP costs make it a poor fit for a very small store. Postmark and SMTP2GO cover simple transactional mail for less, Brevo adds marketing email, and Amazon SES wins on cost per email for anyone comfortable in AWS.
If your goal is a business with high-ticket products, suppliers you can rely on, and a store you control, the better move is to build that, not to shop for a better email relay. That is the model I teach and the one my team builds.
Want a high-ticket store with the suppliers, catalog, email flows, and ads already set up? Let my team build it for you. Get your store built →
Prefer to learn the model yourself? Start with my free mini course, or go deeper in the masterclass and coaching. Free mini course → Masterclass → Coaching →
Related Articles
If you found this useful, these guides go deeper on related topics:
- SendGrid Alternatives: 5 Email API Tools Compared by Price, Limits and Fit (2026)
- Brevo Alternatives in 2026: 5 Email Platforms Compared by Price, Free Plan and Fit
- SMTP2GO Review 2026: Fix Your Email Deliverability for Ecommerce and WordPress
- Omnisend Pricing in 2026: Complete Plan Breakdown, Contact Billing Model, SMS Costs, and Hidden Fees
- Best Email Marketing Tool for Beginners 2026: Mailchimp vs HubSpot vs Constant Contact vs Brevo
Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and world traveler from Seattle, Washington, and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.
He maintains homes in Seattle and Bali, spends most of the year overseas, and usually returns to Seattle for about a month each summer.
