Mailgun vs AWS SES(2026)
Mailgun is better for teams that need powerful inbound routing. AWS SES is the stronger choice if cheapest at scale. Mailgun is freemium (from $15/month) and AWS SES is paid (from $0.10/1,000 emails).
Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.
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Mailgun
Mailgun is a developer-focused email API service for sending transactional and marketing emails with robust tracking.
Starting at $15/month
Visit Mailgun
AWS SES
Amazon Simple Email Service is the cheapest bulk email sending service at $0.10 per 1,000 emails.
Starting at $0.10/1,000 emails
Visit AWS SESHow Do Mailgun and AWS SES Compare on Features?
| Feature | Mailgun | AWS SES |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | paid |
| Starting price | $15/month | $0.10/1,000 emails |
| Transactional API | ✓ | — |
| Email validation | ✓ | — |
| Email routing | ✓ | — |
| Inbound parsing | ✓ | — |
| Analytics | ✓ | — |
| Suppressions | ✓ | — |
| Bulk sending | — | ✓ |
| SMTP + API | — | ✓ |
| Suppression list | — | ✓ |
| Event publishing | — | ✓ |
| Dedicated IPs | — | ✓ |
| Configuration sets | — | ✓ |
Mailgun Pros and Cons vs AWS SES
M
Mailgun
+Powerful inbound routing
+Email validation API
+Good deliverability
+SMTP + API
−Less polished DX than Resend
−No React template support
−UI feels dated
A
AWS SES
+Cheapest at scale
+AWS ecosystem integration
+Dedicated IPs available
+High sending limits
−Complex setup
−No built-in templates
−AWS ecosystem required
−Poor developer experience
Should You Use Mailgun or AWS SES?
Choose Mailgun if…
- •Powerful inbound routing
- •Email validation API
- •Good deliverability
Choose AWS SES if…
- •Cheapest at scale
- •AWS ecosystem integration
- •Dedicated IPs available