Mailgun

Overview

Mailgun is an email infrastructure service built for developers who need to send, receive, and track emails through code rather than traditional email marketing interfaces. The platform operates primarily through APIs and SMTP relay, allowing developers to integrate email functionality directly into their applications, websites, or automated workflows. This makes it fundamentally different from consumer-facing email marketing platforms that rely on visual editors and manual campaign creation.

The service handles over 600 billion emails annually , positioning it as infrastructure for high-volume senders rather than a tool for occasional email blasts. For newsletter creators who work with custom-built platforms, membership sites, or need programmatic control over their email delivery, Mailgun provides the technical foundation to send at scale. The platform cross-references email addresses against a database of over 450 billion emails to validate deliverability before sending, which helps maintain sender reputation when working with large subscriber lists.

What distinguishes Mailgun from traditional newsletter platforms is its focus on transactional and API-driven email rather than template-based campaigns. The service provides detailed event tracking, webhook support, and inbound email routing, making it suitable for creators who need emails triggered by user actions or system events rather than just scheduled newsletters.

Best For

Mailgun works best for newsletter creators with technical skills or development resources who need programmatic control over email delivery. This includes creators building custom publishing platforms, developers integrating newsletter functionality into SaaS products, or technical writers who want to automate email workflows based on user behavior or data triggers. The service is particularly valuable for those sending high volumes of transactional emails alongside newsletters, such as confirmation messages, receipts, or user notifications, where a unified infrastructure simplifies operations.

Key Features

• API-First Email Delivery: Mailgun provides RESTful APIs and SMTP relay that allow developers to send, receive, and track emails programmatically . This approach gives newsletter creators complete control over email timing, content personalization, and delivery logic through code rather than clicking through a dashboard. The API structure makes it straightforward to integrate with existing tech stacks and automate complex email workflows.

• Email Validation Service: The validation API flags undeliverable and high-risk addresses by checking against Mailgun's database of over 450 billion emails . For newsletter creators, this prevents sending to invalid addresses that damage sender reputation and waste sending capacity. The system goes beyond grammar checks to verify addresses directly with mailbox providers , providing more accurate results than basic validation tools.

• Comprehensive Analytics and Tracking: Mailgun tracks detailed email events including opens, clicks, bounces, and spam complaints, with webhook support for real-time event processing . The platform offers campaign analytics that allow you to tag any set of emails and track metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and bounces for specific campaigns or segments . This gives technical newsletter creators the data they need to optimize delivery and engagement without relying on third-party analytics tools.

• Inbox Placement Testing: The service includes tools to test where emails land across different email providers before sending to your full list. This helps newsletter creators identify deliverability issues and adjust their content or sending practices to improve inbox placement rates rather than ending up in spam folders.

• Regional Email Infrastructure: Mailgun operates email infrastructure in both the US and EU, allowing you to send from either region while keeping your data within your chosen geography . This matters for newsletter creators with international audiences who need to comply with regional data regulations or want to improve deliverability by sending from servers closer to recipients.

Pricing

Mailgun offers a free plan that allows up to 100 emails per day (approximately 3,000 per month) with no credit card required, including one custom sending domain, API access, and basic tracking . Beyond the free tier, the service uses a pay-as-you-go pricing structure based on email volume, making it cost-effective for creators who don't send consistently high volumes. Paid plans range from basic tiers to enterprise solutions priced up to $90 per month and higher for custom features , with pricing scaling based on the number of emails sent and additional features like advanced validation or dedicated IP addresses.