Compare
Mailgun vs Twilio
Short answer: Pick Mailgun if you want transactional email delivery and validation; pick Twilio if you want multi-channel communication APIs. Mailgun has a free plan, paid from $15/month; Twilio has a free plan.
MailgunEmail API for sending, receiving and tracking email
TwilioAPIs for SMS, voice, email and verificationWhich to pick
Pick Mailgun if you want…
- Transactional email delivery and validation
- Email API
- Integrations with HTTP API, SMTP or Webhooks (on Mailgun's list, not Twilio's)
Pick Twilio if you want…
- Multi-channel communication APIs
- Integrations with Python, C# or PHP (on Twilio's list, not Mailgun's)
Side by side
- What it is
- Mailgun:Mailgun provides APIs for sending, receiving, validating and tracking transactional emails.
- Twilio:Twilio provides APIs for SMS, voice, email, chat, and verification to build multi-channel customer communications.
- Best for
- Mailgun:Transactional email delivery and validation
- Twilio:Multi-channel communication APIs
- Who it’s for
- Mailgun:Developers building email-enabled applications and services.
- Twilio:Developers building messaging, voice, email, and authentication features.
- Pricing
- Mailgun:Freemium
- Twilio:Freemium
- Starting price
- Mailgun:$15/month (Basic)
- Twilio:—
- Free plan or trial
- Mailgun:Free plan (Free) · Free trial
- Twilio:Free trial
- Plans
- Mailgun:Free $0/mo · Basic $15/mo per month · Foundation $35/mo per month · Scale $90/mo per month
- Twilio:—
- Works with
- Mailgun:HTTP API, SMTP, Webhooks, Email template builder
- Twilio:Python, C#, PHP, Ruby, Java, JavaScript, cURL
Mailgun features
- RESTful Email API & SMTP relay. Send emails via HTTP API or SMTP with high reliability.
- Email validation service. Real-time API and bulk upload to remove invalid addresses.
- Analytics, tracking & webhooks. Detailed delivery, open, click data and event webhooks.
- Inbox preview & accessibility checks. Preview emails before sending to ensure compliance and deliverability.
- Dedicated IPs & IP pools. Control reputation with dedicated IPs, included in higher plans.
- SAML SSO & multi-user access. Enterprise-grade security and role-based access control.
- Log and message retention. Retention up to 30 days for logs and up to 7 days for messages.
- Email template builder. Create and manage reusable email templates via API.
Twilio features
- Messaging APIs. Send and receive SMS, RCS, WhatsApp, MMS and chat across a global network.
- Voice APIs. Embed inbound and outbound calling, SIP trunking, and voice AI into apps.
- Email APIs. Deliver transactional and marketing email at scale via SendGrid.
- Conversation Memory. Persist and recall customer interaction context across channels.
- Verification Services. Validate phone numbers and perform user identity checks to prevent fraud.
- Serverless Builder Tools. Create flows with Studio, Functions, and Assets using pay-as-you-go pricing.
Mailgun vs Twilio FAQ
What is the difference between Mailgun and Twilio?+
Mailgun provides email APIs similar to SendGrid but lacks Twilio’s voice and messaging suite.
Should I use Mailgun or Twilio?+
Pick Mailgun if you want transactional email delivery and validation, email API or integrations with HTTP API, SMTP or Webhooks (on Mailgun's list, not Twilio's). Pick Twilio if you want multi-channel communication APIs or integrations with Python, C# or PHP (on Twilio's list, not Mailgun's).
Is Mailgun or Twilio free?+
Mailgun has a free plan; paid plans start at $15/month (Basic). Twilio has a free plan and paid plans.
Do Mailgun and Twilio integrate with the same tools?+
Their integration lists don't overlap: Mailgun lists HTTP API, SMTP, Webhooks and Email template builder; Twilio lists Python, C#, PHP, Ruby and 3 more.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.