Amazon SES vs Mailgun
Amazon SES and Mailgun are both popular choices in the transactional email service space. Amazon SES is priced by usage, while Mailgun starts at $15/mo. Their pricing is not measured the same way, so we don't rank them on price. Mailgun offers a free plan (100 emails/day (5,000/month), 1 domain, basic tracking), while Amazon SES does not. Both tools work well for high volume transactional senders.
Quick Verdict
Amazon SES wins on rating, integrations.
Mailgun wins on deliverability, free tier.
It's a close call — your choice depends on your specific needs.
Amazon SES
Cheapest email at scale on AWS infrastructure
Amazon SES is AWS's cloud-based email sending service that processes over a trillion emails annually for customers like Netflix and Duolingo. At just $0.10 per 1,000 emails with no minimum commitments, it is the most cost-effective option for developers and businesses already in the AWS ecosystem who need raw transactional email infrastructure at massive scale.
Mailgun
Developer-focused transactional email API by Sinch
Mailgun is a Sinch-owned transactional email API platform founded in 2010, designed for developers who need reliable, high-volume email delivery via REST API or SMTP. It offers email validation, inbox placement testing, and send-time optimization, making it a solid choice for SaaS companies and engineering teams building custom email workflows.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Amazon SES | Mailgun |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.4/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Starting Price | Usage-based | $15/mo |
| Free Plan | No free plan | 100 emails/day (5,000/month), 1 domain, basic tracking |
| Founded | 2011 | 2010 |
| Email Templates | 0 | 25 |
| Integrations | 50 | 40 |
| Deliverability Rate | 95% | 97% |
| Marketing Automation | No | No |
| A/B Testing | No | No |
| Landing Pages | No | No |
| Segmentation | No | No |
| Drag & Drop Editor | No | No |
| SMS Marketing | No | No |
| Ecommerce Features | No | No |
| API Access | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Language | No | No |
| Web Push Notifications | No | No |
| Live Chat | No | No |
| Advanced Analytics | Yes | Yes |
Amazon SES: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Extremely low cost at $0.10 per 1,000 emails, making it the cheapest option for high-volume sending
- + Native integration with AWS ecosystem including Lambda, SNS, CloudWatch, and IAM
- + Handles over a trillion emails per year with enterprise-grade reliability and uptime
- + Built-in support for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC email authentication out of the box
- + Flexible IP options including shared, dedicated ($24.95/mo), and managed dedicated IPs
Cons
- − Steep learning curve requiring AWS expertise for domain verification, DKIM, SPF, and IAM setup
- − No visual drag-and-drop email editor or built-in template builder included
- − Limited customer support; no phone support and documentation can be hard to navigate
- − Strict sending limits initially; requires a production access request to leave the sandbox
- − Advanced analytics like click tracking require additional services like Amazon Pinpoint at extra cost
Mailgun: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Powerful RESTful API with well-structured SDKs for Python, Ruby, Node.js and more, making integration painless for developers
- + Real-time dashboards for delivery, bounce, spam complaints, and click rates provide clear campaign health visibility
- + Handles very high email volumes reliably with strong deliverability and fast sending speeds
- + Built-in email validation and inbox placement testing tools (Mailgun Optimize) for deliverability optimization
- + Flexible routing rules, webhooks, and event tracking simplify debugging and monitoring email performance
Cons
- − Pricing escalates quickly at higher volumes and premium features like dedicated IPs ($59/mo) and validations cost extra
- − No built-in drag-and-drop email editor or marketing automation features — purely developer-focused
- − Setup requires technical knowledge; non-developers will struggle with DNS configuration and API integration
- − UI dashboard feels outdated in certain sections compared to modern competitors like Resend
- − Lower-tier plans use shared IP addresses which can impact deliverability if other senders have poor practices
The Verdict
Amazon SES edges ahead with a 4.4/5 rating compared to Mailgun's 4.2/5. The gap comes mainly from support (4.4 vs 4.1) and value for money (5 vs 4.7). On deliverability, Mailgun reports 97% compared to 95% for Amazon SES — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Amazon SES | Mailgun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | Usage-based | $15/mo |
| Deliverability | 25% | 95% | 97% Winner |
| Rating | 25% | 4.4/5 Winner | 4.2/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 50 Winner | 40 |
| Free Tier | 10% | No | Yes Winner |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Amazon SES if…
- + You're a aws native developers
- + You're a cost conscious enterprises
- + Extremely low cost at $0.10 per 1,000 emails, making it the cheapest option for high-volume sending
Choose Mailgun if…
- + You need a free plan to get started
- + You're a developers
- + You're a saas companies