Mailgun vs Postmark
A source-aware comparison of pricing, documented capabilities and workflow fit.
Short answer
- Price: not directly comparable — Mailgun is pricing not verified, Postmark is usage-based pricing.
- How to start: Mailgun is pricing not verified, Postmark is usage-based pricing.
- Where they differ: on what we checked they match — both offer public api and sso (saml).
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. How we score tools.
What Mailgun is
Mailgun is a developer-focused email API for sending, receiving and tracking mail at volume. Inbound routing and detailed logs make it a good fit when email is a data source and not just an output. The interface assumes a developer; marketing teams will not be composing anything here. Logs are the reason support tickets get resolved quickly.
What Postmark is
Postmark focuses narrowly on transactional email and is known for delivery speed and inbox placement, keeping marketing mail on separate infrastructure. Keeping transactional and bulk mail on separate infrastructure is the reason deliverability holds up, and it is also the constraint: this is not where you send campaigns. Message streams make that separation explicit rather than optional.
Side by side
| Mailgun | Postmark | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Marketing | Marketing |
| How to start | Not verifiednot a monthly price | Usage-basednot a monthly price |
| Public API | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | not checked | No |
| Open source / self-hostable | not checked | No |
| SSO (SAML) | Yes | Yes |
| Visit | Mailgun ↗ | Postmark ↗ |
What Mailgun is built to do
- Sending API
- Delivers mail programmatically with per-domain configuration.
- Inbound routing
- Parses received mail into webhooks for the application.
- Detailed logs
- Retains searchable delivery logs for debugging.
What Postmark is built to do
- Separate message streams
- Keeps transactional and broadcast mail on distinct sending reputations.
- Delivery analytics
- Reports bounces, opens and time-to-inbox per message.
- Inbound parsing
- Turns replies into structured webhooks for the application to process.
Choose Mailgun if
- Applications sending transactional email programmatically.
Choose Postmark if
- Teams where receipts, resets and alerts must arrive.
Evidence and freshness
Where a claim on this page comes from a vendor page, it is linked here.
Mailgun: pros & cons
- Strong API and inbound routing
- Detailed logs and analytics
- Scales to high volume
- Support tiers cost extra
- Deliverability depends on IP setup
- Interface is developer-oriented
Postmark: pros & cons
- Reputation for reliable inbox delivery
- Separate streams for transactional and broadcast
- Detailed delivery diagnostics
- Strict about what counts as transactional
- Costs more per message than bulk providers
- Not intended for marketing campaigns
Our verdict on Mailgun
A solid technical choice. Budget for a dedicated IP if volume matters.
Our verdict on Postmark
If delivery reliability matters more than price per message, this is the one to beat.