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Most buyers should pick Mailgun.
Choose Mailgun for email delivery with published monthly tiers: plans start at $15, and its free plan allows 100 emails per day. Choose Sinch if you need messaging, voice, email, or verification APIs under one provider. Sinch Functions starts free, but API usage rates are not published; its paid Engage plans start at $99 per month. The fit depends on whether you need email tools or broader communications.
01Side by side
| Mailgun | Sinch | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $15/month; extra usage costs apply | API usage-based; Engage starts at $99/month |
| Free plan | Yes: 100 emails per day | Yes: Functions starts free |
| Best for | Teams focused on transactional email delivery | Teams needing messaging, voice, and email |
| Core strength | Email sending, validation, previews, and tracking | Messaging, voice, email, and verification APIs |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use review score: 8/10 | Ease-of-use review score: 6/10 |
| Integrations and data | CRM email-data connection listed | Messaging, voice, email, and routing APIs |
| Team and seat costs | Seat limits not published | Engage starts with one user at $99/month |
| Support | Review support score: 5/10 | Review support score: 5/10 |
Mailgun Choose Mailgun if
- Choose Mailgun if email delivery is your main requirement.
- Choose Mailgun if you want published monthly email tiers.
- Choose Mailgun if 100 free emails per day covers testing.
Sinch Choose Sinch if
- Choose Sinch if you need messaging and voice alongside email.
- Choose Sinch if you want APIs across several communication channels.
- Choose Sinch if Engage's included SMS volumes fit your team.
02Pricing compared
Mailgun has a free tier capped at 100 emails per day, then monthly plans start at $15 for 10,000 emails. The $35 Foundation plan includes 50,000 emails, while Scale costs $90 for 100,000. Extra email charges start at $1.80 per 1,000 on Basic, $1.30 on Foundation and $1.10 on Scale, according to the pricing page. A 30-day free trial is listed; annual prices are not published.
Sinch’s API pricing is usage-based, but per-message, per-minute and Functions compute rates are not published. Its Engage plans start at $99 per month for 3,000 SMS; higher tiers cost $249, $799, $1,799 and $2,399 monthly. Those are SMS-focused plans, not a direct email-volume comparison. Sinch lists a 14-day trial and advertises 16% annual-billing savings without publishing annual dollar prices.
03Features and depth
Mailgun is the more focused choice for teams building email sending into a product or workflow. Its API and SMTP services send, receive and track email, with tools for address validation, email previews, incoming-message parsing and CRM data connections. The listed plans also distinguish email volume, sending domains, log retention and inbound routing. Scale adds 5,000 validations, SAML SSO and dedicated IP pools; Enterprise includes custom features and deliverability services.
Sinch covers a wider communications stack: its APIs include SMS, RCS and WhatsApp messaging, voice, email and verification. Its ready-made applications include email campaigns, chatbots and contact center tools, while network services cover number provisioning and routing. The listed Engage tiers emphasize SMS volumes, users, workflows and capabilities such as shared contacts, SSO or RCS. That breadth may suit a team consolidating several communication channels, but the published plan details do not show email-volume allowances for those tiers. For email-specific delivery tools, Mailgun’s published feature set is more directly relevant.
04Ease of use and learning curve
The learning curve depends on whether you want an API or a broader communications platform. Mailgun’s offer is centered on email API and SMTP, with a free tier for testing capped at 100 emails per day. Its plans spell out email limits and several operational controls, which makes the basic cost and volume trade-off easier to compare.
Sinch has both APIs and ready-made applications, but it spans messaging, voice, email and verification. That range means more choices to scope, and its API usage rates are not published, so budgeting requires getting rates from Sinch. Engage lists monthly tiers with user and SMS limits. The reviews our score Mailgun’s ease of use at 8 and Sinch’s at 6; those scores are directional, not a substitute for checking your implementation needs.
Questions people ask
Is Mailgun cheaper than Sinch?
For a clearly priced email-sending tier, Mailgun starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails. Sinch’s listed Engage plans start at $99 per month and specify SMS allowances. Sinch API charges are usage-based, but the per-message and per-minute rates are not published, so total cost depends on your usage.
Does Mailgun or Sinch have a free plan?
Mailgun lists a free plan with 100 emails per day, one custom sending domain and one day of log retention. Sinch says Functions starts free, but compute-time charges apply and rates are not published. Sinch also lists a 14-day trial; Mailgun lists a 30-day trial.
Which is better for transactional email?
Mailgun is the more direct fit if you need an email delivery API: its listed tools cover sending, tracking, validation, previews and incoming email parsing. Sinch also offers email APIs, but its product scope includes messaging, voice and verification, and the published plan details do not list email-volume allowances.
Can I use Sinch for SMS and email through one provider?
Sinch lists APIs for SMS, RCS, WhatsApp, email, voice and verification, so it can cover several communication channels. Its Engage plans publish SMS allowances, while API pricing is usage-based and specific rates are not published. Mailgun’s described product is focused on email delivery and related tools.