Mailgun vs SparkPost

Name: SparkPost
Brand: SparkPost
Rating: 4 (73 reviews)

Email API pricing comparison · 2026

Mailgun pricing ranges from $0–$90/month, while SparkPost uses custom pricing. These products use different pricing models (Usage-based (pay per token/image/minute) vs ), so a direct price comparison isn't meaningful — costs depend on usage volume and mix.

Visit

See pricing on each vendor's site

Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.

Visit Mailgun pricing

Free plan limits → Discount programs →

Visit SparkPost pricing

Free plan limits → Discount programs →

Compare

2 products · Email API

Side-by-side · live

Mailgun

Mailgun pricing starts at $0/month on the Free plan (100 emails/day), with paid plans begi

verified 8w ago

$300 $37K

View pricing →

SparkPost

SparkPost — now operating under Bird (formerly MessageBird) following its 2021 acquisition

verified 6w ago

$300 $37K

View pricing →

Verdict · Vendr median · year 1

SparkPost saves $37K vs Mailgun · 25 seats

Cheapest $300

Spread 99%

Estimated license cost

at 25 seats

List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.

Usage-based

Custom rates

see vendor pricing for volume tiers

Custom pricing

Custom

all tiers are quote-only

What buyers actually pay

median, annual

Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.

Median annual

$37K/yr

Vendr · n=115 avg 7% negotiated

↓ Lowest median

Median annual

$300/yr

Vendr · n=5 · limited data

REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from

Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs

Sources 18 sourced facts

13 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median · 3 review platforms

Last verified 1mo ago

Confidence Medium confidence

Sources 9 sourced facts

4 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median · 3 review platforms

Last verified 1mo ago

Confidence Limited confidence

REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder

Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.

REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker

Severity-ranked, sourced

5 documented

Dedicated IP Address

$59 per month per IP

1 source
Email Validations

$1.20 per 100 validations

1 source
Overage Charges

40-60%

1 source
Optimize Suite Add-on

$49/month

1 source
Limited Log Retention

1 source

4 documented

Implementation Costs

1 source
Customization and Training Costs

1 source
Feature Upgrades (Email History)

1 source
Overage Charges

$1.00 per thousand emails (Starter plan), $0.85 per thousand (100K plan), $0.70 per thousand (250K plan), $0.55 per thousand (1M plan)

1 source

REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

Mailgun

SparkPost

Auto-renewal

Yes

Cancellation

—

30 days for non-renewal; 7 days within 30 days of terms of use changes

Commitment

—

✓ Monthly plans starting from $20 per month for 50,000 emails (Starter plan).

Price escalation

—

Can downgrade

—

REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews

TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2

TrustRadius

9.2out of 5 (67)

Trustpilot

1.5out of 5 (24)

4.2out of 5 (320)

Best for

Testing and development

Watch out

Slow or unresponsive support (24-48+ hour response times for critical production issues)

TrustRadius

2.8out of 5 (16)

Trustpilot

1.4out of 5 (72)

4out of 5 (73)

Best for

Developers testing integration before committing to a paid plan

Watch out

Account Suspension and Termination

Decide

Get a quote from each vendor

Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.

Visit Mailgun pricing

Free plan limits → Discount programs →

Visit SparkPost pricing

Free plan limits → Discount programs →

License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.

Email API

Mailgun

$0–$90

/month

5 plans · Free tier

Full pricing breakdown →

Email API

SparkPost

Custom pricing

/month

4 plans · Free tier

Full pricing breakdown →

⚖

Different Pricing Models

Direct price comparison isn't meaningful here — Mailgun uses Usage-based (pay per token/image/minute) pricing while SparkPost uses pricing. Your actual cost will depend on usage volume, team size, or both. Here's each product in its native unit.

Usage-based (pay per token/image/minute)

Mailgun

$0–$90 / month

See full Mailgun pricing →

SparkPost

Custom pricing

See full SparkPost pricing →

Mailgun and SparkPost both operate in the email api category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan	Mailgun	SparkPost
Free	Free /month	Free /month
Basic	$15 /month	Custom
Foundation	$35 /month	Custom
Scale	$90 /month	Custom
Enterprise	Custom	—

Market Intelligence

Mailgun

Median annual cost: $37,188
Average negotiated discount: 7%
Based on: 115 deals

SparkPost

Median annual cost: $300
Based on: 5 deals

What Users Say

Mailgun

4.2out of 5 (320)

Trustpilot

1.5out of 5 (24)

TrustRadius

9.2out of 10 (67)

Top complaints

Slow or unresponsive support (24-48+ hour response times for critical production issues)
Account suspended or permanently disabled without explanation
Shared IP deliverability problems affecting Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail, and Outlook

SparkPost

4out of 5 (73)

Trustpilot

1.4out of 5 (72)

TrustRadius

2.8out of 10 (16)

Top complaints

Account Suspension and Termination
Customer Service and Support
Issues Post-Acquisition by MessageBird

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Mailgun 9 hidden costs

medium

Dedicated IP Address $59 per month per IP

medium

Email Validations $1.20 per 100 validations

high

Overage Charges 40-60%

low

Optimize Suite Add-on $49/month

low

Limited Log Retention

See all Mailgun hidden costs →

SparkPost 4 hidden costs

low

Implementation Costs

medium

Customization and Training Costs

high

Feature Upgrades (Email History)

medium

Overage Charges $1.00 per thousand emails (Starter plan), $0.85 per thousand (100K plan), $0.70 per thousand (250K plan), $0.55 per thousand (1M plan)

See all SparkPost hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term	Mailgun	SparkPost
Auto-renewal	Yes	Yes
Cancellation	—	30 days for non-renewal; 7 days within 30 days of terms of use changes
Minimum commitment	—	Monthly plans starting from $20 per month for 50,000 emails (Starter plan).

Sources & confidence

Plans at a glance

Hidden costs

Contract terms

What users say

Mailgun

SparkPost

Different Pricing Models

Mailgun

SparkPost

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Market Intelligence

Mailgun

SparkPost

What Users Say

Mailgun

SparkPost

Hidden Costs

Mailgun 9 hidden costs

SparkPost 4 hidden costs

Contract Terms

Continue researching

Mailgun

SparkPost

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