Mailgun vs SendGrid
Both are sending platforms that include validation on higher tiers. Mailgun's Optimize Pilot plan is $49 a month with 2,500 validations, and overage starts at $1.20 per 100. SendGrid's Pro email API plan starts at $89.95 a month with 2,500 validations included. Choose the one you already send through, because validation alone is not a reason to switch providers.
Prices read from mailgun.com and sendgrid.com. We sell a competing product, and it is not in the verdict above — where we fit is at the bottom.
| Mailgun | SendGrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest route | $49/mo | $89.95/mo |
| Per year, if subscribed | $588 | $1,079.40 |
| Metering | Monthly validation allowance, overage from $1.20 per 100 | 2,500 validations included with Pro |
| Credits expire | Allowance resets monthly | Allowance resets monthly |
| Product type | Sending platform | Sending platform |
| Price checked | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-12 |
Cost for one pass over a list
Each vendor’s cheapest available route. An empty cell means that vendor does not publish an allowance we can calculate from, not that it is free.
| List size | Mailgun | SendGrid | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $49.00 | — | Not comparable |
| 10,000 | — | — | Not comparable |
| 50,000 | — | — | Not comparable |
| 100,000 | — | — | Not comparable |
| 1,000,000 | — | — | Not comparable |
Cost at a steady monthly volume
What the same volume costs every month, on each vendor’s cheapest route that covers it in one month: a subscription tier whose allowance fits, or buying the covering pack again.
| Per month | Mailgun | SendGrid |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | —Not priced on the page we read | —No published plan covers this volume |
| 50,000 | —Not priced on the page we read | —No published plan covers this volume |
| 100,000 | —Not priced on the page we read | —No published plan covers this volume |
| 1,000,000 | —Not priced on the page we read | —No published plan covers this volume |
How each one bills you
Mailgun charges $49 a month for 2,500 verifications, metered as monthly validation allowance, overage from $1.20 per 100. SendGrid charges $89.95 a month, metered as 2,500 validations included with pro.
Mailgun's allowance is tied to the subscription period. SendGrid's allowance is tied to the subscription period. For uneven volume, expiry often matters more than the headline price, because credits that lapse raise the real cost of every address you did verify.
What to watch with Mailgun: past the allowance, validations are billed as overage from $1.20 per 100 on the Pilot plan, so a big list clean is mostly overage. With SendGrid: validation is only included from the Pro email API plan up, so a team that wants to clean a list pays for a sending tier it may not need.
Both meter verifications, so checking the same list again costs again. Before committing to either, verify an address you invented at a real domain and an address at a catch-all domain on both. The first should come back invalid and the second as risky or accept-all, not valid.
Choose Mailgun if
you send through Mailgun, or want validation without buying a sending tier.
Disclosure — our product
Where SimpleVerifier fits, and where it does not
We publish this comparison and we sell a third option, so treat the rest of this section as the pitch it is. SimpleVerifier is a monthly price with no per-email fees: verification is never cut off (each plan sets how many a month run at full speed) and API calls are included each month, so there are no credits to buy or expire:
Pro $39/mo
Email verification with the first 100,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off, plus the finder and the API.
Pro + Phone $49.99/mo
Pro with the phone add-on: live carrier lookups for your phone lists.
Business $99/mo
For senders with big lists: the first 300,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off.
Agency $249/mo
For agencies running lists for clients: the first 750,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off.
That is worth it in two cases: large lists, because volume does not change the price, and lists you verify repeatedly, because a confirmed result is cached for 14 days so the second pass costs nothing. Outside those two cases, a metered vendor is usually cheaper and you should use one, Mailgun and SendGrid included.
Run the same test on any verifier
Type any address. It gets the same check the paid plans run: syntax, the domain’s mail servers and, where the provider allows it, a live mailbox check. Nothing is sent to the address.
Five checks a minute, no account needed. Nothing is sent to the address — we ask its mail server whether the mailbox exists, then disconnect.
Have a list? Sign in with Google and the first 100 addresses are checked free, with results to download. No card.
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Common questions
- Mailgun or SendGrid — which is better?
- Both are sending platforms that include validation on higher tiers. Mailgun's Optimize Pilot plan is $49 a month with 2,500 validations, and overage starts at $1.20 per 100. SendGrid's Pro email API plan starts at $89.95 a month with 2,500 validations included. Choose the one you already send through, because validation alone is not a reason to switch providers.
- How much do Mailgun and SendGrid cost?
- Mailgun costs $49 a month for 2,500 verifications. SendGrid costs $89.95 a month. Both read from their own pricing pages — Mailgun on 2026-10-12, SendGrid on 2026-10-12.
- Should I choose Mailgun?
- Choose Mailgun if you send through Mailgun, or want validation without buying a sending tier.
- Should I choose SendGrid?
- Choose SendGrid if you already send through SendGrid on a Pro plan or above.
- Is there an alternative to both Mailgun and SendGrid?
- SimpleVerifier is a monthly plan rather than credits: Pro at $39, Business at $99 or Agency at $249 a month. Email verification is never cut off (on Pro the first 100,000 a month run at full speed, more on Business and Agency), and API calls are included each month. It suits large lists and lists you re-check often. For a small one-off clean, a metered vendor such as Mailgun or SendGrid can cost less.