Mailgun vs Amazon SES

Mailgun9.7Visit Amazon SES8.3Visit

Higher score Mailgun #1 in Email APIs 9.7/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Mailgun

vs

Amazon SES #8 in Email APIs 8.3/10 Paid ✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Amazon SES

• Mailgun fits best

  Developers wanting a mature full email API

• Amazon SES fits best

  AWS users sending high-volume email cheaply

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature	Mailgun 9.7/10 Visit ↗	Amazon SES 8.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.7	8.3
Ranking	#1 in Email APIs	#8 in Email APIs
Best for	Developers wanting a mature full email API	AWS users sending high-volume email cheaply
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	—	$0.10/unit usage-based
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	30 days	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Features Mailgun 5/5 · Amazon SES 5/5
Inbound email	✓	✓
Delivery event webhooks	✓	✓
SMTP relay	✓	✓
Email templates	✓	✓
Dedicated IP option	✓	✓
Specs
Monthly send limit	10000 /mo	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	RESTful API, SMTP relay, inbound routing, and delivery webhooks Templates, analytics, logs, validation, and suppression management Dedicated IP pools, SAML SSO, and live support on Scale	Usage-based outbound pricing starts at $0.10 per 1,000 emails Supports inbound receiving, SMTP, templates, and email event publishing Integrates with SNS, S3, Lambda, CloudWatch, and AWS SDKs
Cons	Paid-plan pricing varies by tier and is not summarized here Advanced features are concentrated in higher plans Broader deliverability tooling may exceed simple sending needs	No permanent free plan Some features and pricing depend on the selected monthly plan Inbound receiving is region-dependent
Our verdict	Mailgun is an email delivery platform for developers, marketers, and product teams. It supports transactional and marketing messages through RESTful email APIs and SMTP relay, with inbound email routing, delivery-event webhooks, templates,… Read the review →	Amazon SES is a cloud email service for applications that need to send transactional messages, marketing email, newsletters, or other application-generated mail. Developers can send through the SES API, AWS SDKs, SMTP interface, console,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Mailgun — where it wins

  • RESTful API, SMTP relay, inbound routing, and delivery webhooks
  • Templates, analytics, logs, validation, and suppression management
  • Dedicated IP pools, SAML SSO, and live support on Scale

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid-plan pricing varies by tier and is not summarized here
  • Advanced features are concentrated in higher plans
  • Broader deliverability tooling may exceed simple sending needs

• Amazon SES — where it wins

  • Usage-based outbound pricing starts at $0.10 per 1,000 emails
  • Supports inbound receiving, SMTP, templates, and email event publishing
  • Integrates with SNS, S3, Lambda, CloudWatch, and AWS SDKs

  Where it doesn't

  • No permanent free plan
  • Some features and pricing depend on the selected monthly plan
  • Inbound receiving is region-dependent

• Mailgun9.7/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A mature email API with broad sending, inbound routing, tracking, and deliverability tools.

  Visit MailgunFull verdict →
• Amazon SES8.3/10 · Paid

  A low-cost AWS email API for high-volume transactional and marketing sending.

  Visit Amazon SESFull verdict →