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Most buyers should pick Mailgun.
Mailgun is the more direct fit for developers building email sending, validation and inbound processing: it offers API and SMTP access, with published monthly email quotas and prices. Sinch is a broader communications platform, combining messaging, email, voice and verification APIs with ready-made applications. Its Functions start free, but API usage rates and limits are not published. Choose based on whether your codebase needs an email service or a multi-channel communications provider.
01Side by side
| Mailgun | Sinch | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly email plans; overages priced per 1,000 | Usage-based APIs; monthly-priced Engage plans |
| Free tier | 100 emails daily; 1 sending domain | Functions start free; compute charges apply |
| API and SDKs | Email API and SMTP; SDKs listed | Messaging, email, voice and verification APIs; SDKs listed |
| CLI and docs | Documentation and SDKs linked | Documentation, Functions and CLI linked |
| Integrations | CRM connections; Cursor plugin | Adobe, Emarsys, SAP, HubSpot and Shopify ecosystems |
| Deployment model | Hosted email delivery service and API | Communications infrastructure, APIs and applications |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Limits and scaling | Published email quotas; custom Enterprise plan | API usage limits unpublished; custom solutions available |
Mailgun Choose Mailgun if
- Choose Mailgun if email is your primary delivery channel.
- Choose Mailgun if you need SMTP alongside an email API.
- Choose Mailgun if published email quotas and overage rates matter.
Sinch Choose Sinch if
- Choose Sinch if your stack spans messaging, voice and email.
- Choose Sinch if you need verification or number connectivity APIs.
- Choose Sinch if ready-made messaging applications fit your workflow.
02Pricing at real usage
Mailgun has a free plan with 100 emails per day. Paid plans start at $15 per month for 10,000 emails on Basic; Foundation is $35 for 50,000, and Scale is $90 for 100,000. The pricing page lists extra email rates from $1.80, $1.30 and $1.10 per 1,000 on those plans, respectively. Sinch Functions starts free, then charges for compute time; SMS and Voice are billed per message or minute, with rates and usage limits not published. Sinch Engage’s monthly plans start at $99 for Basics, including 3,000 SMS, and rise to $249 for Conversations, $799 for Pro, $1,799 for Pro Plus and $2,399 for Advanced. Those plans increase included SMS volume and features. The pricing page lists a 16% annual-billing discount for Engage, without annual dollar amounts.
03API, SDKs and integration
Mailgun provides an email API and SMTP services for sending, receiving and tracking messages. Its tools also cover validation, email previews and incoming-message parsing. The homepage links to documentation and SDKs, but does not name programming languages in its product overview. It describes CRM data connections and a Cursor plugin, so teams can assess those alongside their existing application integrations.
Sinch exposes APIs for messaging, email, voice, verification and numbers, and also offers ready-made applications. Its developer section links to documentation for messaging, voice and video, email, verification, and numbers and connectivity. It lists SDKs, Sinch Build, Functions and CLI, plus GitHub and API status. The homepage does not name SDK languages. Sinch lists Adobe, Emarsys, SAP, HubSpot and Shopify among its platform ecosystems. Mailgun is narrower but gives email teams an explicit SMTP option; Sinch is broader when an integration needs several communication channels.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Neither vendor identifies an open-source licence or self-hosting option in its product overview. Both are presented as vendor-operated services: Mailgun as an email delivery service and API, and Sinch as communications infrastructure, APIs and applications. Plan for the service to remain an external dependency in production.
Neither vendor publishes data-export details in its product overview. Before adopting either platform, ask how to export message and contact data, what formats are available, and whether logs or inbound messages remain accessible after cancellation. Migration work will depend on how much application code relies on vendor-specific API behavior, routing and configuration. Mailgun’s focus is email; Sinch can span more channels, which may concentrate more communications workflows in one provider. Keep message templates, contact records and delivery-event handling in formats your application can move where possible.
Questions people ask
Is Mailgun or Sinch cheaper for email?
Mailgun publishes email-specific plans starting at $15 per month for 10,000 emails, with listed overage rates. Sinch API pricing is usage-based, but its email rates are not published. Sinch Engage plans list monthly prices for SMS-focused bundles, so compare them only if those features and channels fit your use case.
Can developers use Sinch for email delivery?
Yes. Sinch lists Email APIs and an Email Platform alongside its messaging, voice and verification products. Its homepage does not specify email API rates or usage limits, so ask Sinch for those details and expected costs before choosing it for a high-volume email workload.
Does Mailgun have a free plan?
Yes. Mailgun’s Free plan includes 100 emails per day, one custom sending domain, two API keys, one day of log retention and one inbound route. The Basic plan starts at $15 per month and includes 10,000 emails per month without a daily email limit.
Should I use one provider for email and SMS?
Sinch offers APIs and applications across email, SMS, RCS, MMS, WhatsApp and voice. Mailgun is focused on email delivery. A single provider may simplify a multi-channel integration, but compare channel-specific pricing, limits and migration options before consolidating.