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It's a split decision.
Mailgun and Resend are hosted email APIs with free tiers and API and SMTP sending. Choose Mailgun if you need email validation, inbound routing, or published paid prices: Basic starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails. Choose Resend if its listed SDK coverage, CLI, test mode and modular webhooks fit your stack. Its free plan also allows 100 emails daily, but the pricing page does not list paid plan prices or transactional overage rates, so estimate costs with the vendor before scaling.
01Side by side
| Mailgun | Resend | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly plans; paid prices and several overage rates published | Monthly plans; paid prices and transactional overage rates unpublished |
| Free tier | 100 emails daily; one domain; one-day logs; 30-day trial | 100 emails daily; three domains and inboxes; 30-day retention |
| API and SDKs | Email API and SMTP; SDK languages not listed | REST, SMTP, and SDKs for nine listed languages |
| CLI and docs | Documentation and SDKs; Cursor plugin | CLI, documentation, and SDKs |
| Integrations | CRM connections, inbound parsing, and Cursor plugin | Contacts, webhooks, DNS monitoring, and domain authentication |
| Deployment model | Hosted email delivery API and SMTP service | Hosted email API with REST and SMTP options |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Limits and scaling | 10,000–100,000-email monthly tiers; overages priced by plan | Paid plans have no daily cap; overage rates unpublished |
Mailgun Choose Mailgun if
- Choose Mailgun if you need inbound routing and email parsing.
- Choose Mailgun if you need real-time or bulk email validation.
- Choose Mailgun if published monthly plan and overage prices matter.
Resend Choose Resend if
- Choose Resend if your stack benefits from its listed language SDKs.
- Choose Resend if you want a CLI, test mode, and modular webhooks.
- Choose Resend if its free allowance of three domains and inboxes fits.
02Pricing at real usage
Both services have free plans with 100 emails daily. Mailgun's Free plan includes one custom sending domain, two API keys, one-day log retention, and one inbound route; it also lists a 30-day free trial. Basic costs $15 monthly for 10,000 emails, Foundation $35 for 50,000, and Scale $90 for 100,000. Extra emails start at $1.80, $1.30, and $1.10 per 1,000 on those plans, respectively. Resend's Free plan includes three inboxes, three domains, and 30-day data retention. Its pricing page lists Pro and Scale but no prices; transactional overage rates are also unpublished. Resend lists $20 monthly for 100 extra domains on Pro and Scale, and $30 monthly for dedicated IPs on Scale, available above 3,000 emails daily. Both bill monthly; Resend has no annual discount.
03API, SDKs and integration
Mailgun provides email sending, receiving, and tracking through its API and SMTP services. Its feature set also includes inbound email parsing, real-time and bulk email validation, and tools to preview and test email. The company describes CRM data connections and promotes a Cursor plugin. Its site links to documentation and SDKs.
Resend offers REST and SMTP options, a CLI, and SDKs for Node.js, Ruby, Python, PHP, Go, Rust, Java, Elixir, and .NET. Its API supports test mode to simulate events without sending real email. Modular webhooks notify your server about delivery, opens, bounces, and clicks. Resend also includes contact management, DNS monitoring, domain authentication, suppression lists, and regional sending. For an application already organized around a particular language, Resend's published SDK list makes the integration choice easier to check. With either service, verify endpoint behavior and event handling against its documentation before routing production mail.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Neither vendor publishes an open-source licence, self-hosting option, or data-export path in its public product details. Treat both as hosted services, not mail infrastructure you can deploy inside your own environment.
The practical lock-in is in provider configuration and operations: sending domains, API keys, routing, suppression data, webhooks, and delivery workflows. Mailgun also offers inbound routes and email parsing; Resend offers contacts and modular webhooks. The stated features do not establish that these settings or records export in a portable format. Before adopting either, ask how to export contacts, suppression lists, templates, message and event data, and domain configuration, and whether historical logs remain available after migration. Mailgun's listed log retention ranges from one to 30 days by plan; Resend's free plan lists 30-day data retention.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, Mailgun or Resend?
Mailgun is easier to price from published figures: Basic is $15 monthly for 10,000 emails, with published overage rates by plan. Resend's pricing page lists paid plans but not their prices or transactional overage rates. Compare a real monthly volume with both vendors before choosing.
Can I send email through SMTP with both services?
Yes. Mailgun lists API and SMTP services for sending, receiving, and tracking email. Resend lists SMTP alongside its REST API and language SDKs. Check each vendor's documentation for the configuration and authentication details your application needs.
Which service has more language SDKs?
Resend lists SDKs for Node.js, Ruby, Python, PHP, Go, Rust, Java, Elixir, and .NET. Mailgun's homepage links to SDKs but does not list their languages there. Check Mailgun's SDK documentation for support in your application's language.
Can I self-host Mailgun or Resend?
The vendors do not publish self-hosting options in their public product details. Both are presented as hosted email services. If self-hosting or a defined exit path is a requirement, ask each vendor about deployment options and data export before adopting the service.