Head to head
Mailgun vs Resend
As a transactional email API, Resend rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 85.1 to 82.1, a 3-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Mailgun | Resend |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 82.1 | 85.1 |
Specifications
| Mailgun | Resend | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Developer email infrastructure at scale | DX-first transactional email for modern stacks |
| Free tier | 100 emails/day (forever) | 3,000 emails/mo (100/day) |
| Pricing | Per monthly email volume | Per monthly email volume |
| Official SDKs | 9 languages | 8 languages |
Is Mailgun better than Resend?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, Resend rates higher (85.1 vs 82.1). It leads on the four weighted criteria, but price is reported separately, so the best choice still depends on your budget.
Verdict in one line
Resend leads by 3 points (85.1 vs 82.1) and wins 2 of 4 criteria; Mailgun wins 2.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 80 | 92 | |
| Reliability | 86 | 74 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 84 | 80 | |
| Accessibility | 78 | 95 |
Choose Mailgun if… / choose Resend if…
- →reliability matters most to you (86 vs 74)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (84 vs 80)
- →you need broad SDK coverage (9 official SDKs vs 8)
- →your use case matches its focus: developer email infrastructure at scale
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (92 vs 80)
- →accessibility matters most to you (95 vs 78)
- →your use case matches its focus: dx-first transactional email for modern stacks
Pricing side by side
- Model
- Per monthly email volume
- Free tier
- 100 emails/day (forever)
- Free$0/mo
- Basicfrom $15/mo
- Foundation$35/mo
- Scale$90/mo
- EnterpriseCustom (contact sales)
- Model
- Per monthly email volume
- Free tier
- 3,000 emails/mo (100/day)
- Free$0/mo
- Pro$20-$35/mo
- Scale$90-$1,150/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
- Dedicated IP add-on$30/mo
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (Mailgun) and 2026-06-27 (Resend).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 4
PythonRubyPHPGo
Only Mailgun · 5
JavaC#/.NETNode.jsREST APISMTP relay
Only Resend · 4
Node.js / JavaScriptElixirReact (React Email)SMTP interface
Strengths and weaknesses
- +Clean, well-documented REST API plus SMTP relay; reviewers report integration in minutes
- +Seven official, actively maintained SDKs (Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, C#, Node.js, Go)
- +Contractual 99.99% uptime SLA on core API/SMTP/outbound delivery for all plan tiers
- –Pricing escalates steeply with volume; reviewers say it has gotten 'pricier and pricier'
- –Legacy pay-as-you-go Flex plan doubled to $2.00/1K in Dec 2025 and is closed to new users
- –Recurring abrupt account suspensions, sometimes right after signup or mid-integration, with no clear reason
- +First-class React Email integration, compose emails as React components that render across major clients
- +Excellent developer experience: clean REST API, fast setup (often ~30 min including DNS), clear docs and useful per-message logs
- +Generous free tier (3,000 emails/month) and simple, transparent volume-based pricing
- –Intermittent email-sending latency, recurring reports and published incidents of delayed delivery, sometimes minutes or more
- –Less mature deliverability tooling and guidance than incumbents like Postmark, especially as volume scales
- –Analytics are thinner than legacy platforms; users want deeper reporting and proactive DNS/reputation warnings
Mailgun vs Resend: questions
- Which has better documentation, Mailgun or Resend?
- Resend scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 92 vs 80 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, Mailgun or Resend?
- Mailgun scores higher on reliability: 86 vs 74 out of 100.
- Do Mailgun and Resend have a free tier?
- Mailgun: yes (100 emails/day (forever)). Resend: yes (3,000 emails/mo (100/day)).
- How are Mailgun and Resend priced?
- Mailgun: Per monthly email volume. Resend: Per monthly email volume.
- Which has more official SDKs?
- Mailgun lists 9 official SDKs, Resend lists 8.