In the competitive landscape of email API services, selecting the best option for you and your business can be quite a challenge. Developers and businesses seek a robust, easy-to-integrate, and cost-effective email API solution. While platforms like Mailgun, one of the most popular tools, may seem like an obvious choice, Elastic Email emerges as a better alternative and a strong contender. Especially for those seeking affordable pricing and specific feature requirements, the Elastic Email API is a compelling Mailgun alternative.
Table of Contents
- Cost-Effectiveness for higher volumes
- Built-in Email Verification
- Comprehensive API Libraries
- DMARC Generator
- Outstanding 24/7 human customer support
- Elastic Email vs. Mailgun - features comparison
- How to migrate from Mailgun to Elastic Email
- Elastic Email as a great Mailgun alternative - wrapping up
Cost-Effectiveness for higher volumes
One of the most significant advantages of Elastic Email API lies in its pricing structure, especially for higher email volumes. When comparing the Elastic Email API Starter plan with Mailgun’s Foundation plan, both of which offer 50,000 emails per month, the cost difference is notable:
- Elastic Email API Starter plan: $19/month for 50,000 emails
- Mailgun Foundation plan: $35/month for 50,000 emails.
This makes Elastic Email API nearly half the price for the same email volume at this tier, presenting a substantial saving for businesses with moderate to high sending needs. The difference in pricing is even more visible at the 100,000 emails tier. In Elastic Email, you’d pay $29/month for such an email count, whereas in Mailgun, it’d cost you $75/month (!).
Not to mention the Mailgun Foundation plan ends at 100,000 emails. If you send more than that, you need to upgrade your plan to Scale, costing $215/month for 250,000 emails/month (next tier).
Email sending limit |
 |
 |
50,000 |
$35 (Foundation) | $19 |
100,000 |
$75 (Foundation) | $29 |
250,000 |
$215 (Scale) | $99 |
500,000 |
$400 (Scale) | $169 |
Built-in Email Verification
Email verification is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation and deliverability. Elastic Email API's Starter plan includes single and bulk email verification as a standard feature. In contrast, Mailgun's Foundation plan requires an additional add-on for email validation, which can increase the overall cost. This integrated approach in Elastic Email API simplifies the process and provides immediate value without extra expenses.
Comprehensive API Libraries
For developers, ease of integration is one of the most essential aspects when choosing an email API provider. At Elastic Email, we stand out by explicitly offering API libraries for a wide range of 12 programming languages and frameworks, including JS, Python, PHP, and C#. This broad support can significantly simplify the integration process for development teams working with diverse technology stacks, reducing development time and effort. Mailgun also offers a variety of SDKs, but only for 6 programming languages.
DMARC Generator
Elastic Email API provides you with your own DMARC generator, which is a valuable tool for email authentication and preventing email spoofing. It becomes even indispensable given the Google, Microsoft and Yahoo authentication requirements. While Mailgun supports various authentication protocols, having a dedicated DMARC generator built into the service can streamline the process of setting up and managing DMARC policies, further enhancing email security and deliverability.
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Outstanding 24/7 human customer support
Customer support is a critical aspect of any service, and both Elastic Email API and Mailgun offer various levels of assistance. At Elastic Email, we offer professional 24/7 human customer support available for you from day one, for free. You can reach out to our agents via email and chat, and quickly receive needed assistance. In Mailgun’s Foundation plan, you only get ticket support, whereas phone and chat support are reserved for higher-tier plans. This means that users on Mailgun's lower-tier plans might have more limited access to immediate, personalized support.
Elastic Email vs. Mailgun - features comparison
Plan comparison |
|
 |
Email API & SMTP Relay |
|
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Email Designer |
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Free Email Templates |
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Suppressions Management |
|
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Email Verification Service |
Add-on |
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Email Log Storage |
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Detailed Documentation |
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DMARC Generator |
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|
API Libraries & SDKs |
6 (Go, Node.js, PHP, Java, Ruby, Python) | 12 (Typescript Angular, Typescript Axios, Ruby, Java, Go, Rust, Bash, C#, PHP, Perl, JavaScript, Python) |
Customer Support |
Limited 24/7 Ticket Support | 24/7 Live Chat Support |
How to migrate from Mailgun to Elastic Email
To make it easier for you to make the switch from Mailgun to Elastic Email, we prepared an API Migration Guide. You can look there to learn how to get started - from signing up, setting up a sending domain, through creating your API key and installing an API library, to descending your first email with Elastic Email.
Elastic Email as a great Mailgun alternative - wrapping up
While Mailgun is a powerful and popular choice, Elastic Email API presents a compelling alternative, especially for businesses and developers looking for a more cost-effective solution without compromising on essential features. Our competitive pricing for higher volumes, built-in email verification, in-house MTA, comprehensive API libraries, DMARC generator, and readily available 24/7 expert customer support make us a strong contender in the transactional email service market.
Ula Chwesiuk
Ula is a content creator at Elastic Email. She is passionate about marketing, creative writing and language learning. Outside of work, Ula likes to travel, try new recipes and go to concerts.
