Mailgun vs Mailchimp: Which Email Platform Actually Works for You?

Here’s the thing about choosing between Mailgun and Mailchimp: they’re both good at sending emails, but they’re solving completely different problems. It’s like comparing a race car to a family SUV – both get you places, just not the same places.

Mailchimp wants to be your all-in-one marketing buddy. Drag-and-drop builders, pretty templates, automation that feels almost magical. It’s built for people who want to create newsletters, nurture leads, and generally do “marketing stuff” without getting their hands dirty with code.

Mailgun, on the other hand, is what developers reach for when they need emails to just work. Password resets, order confirmations, notifications – the behind-the-scenes emails that keep apps running. It’s an API service first, marketing platform second (if at all).

Mailgun vs Mailchimp — Quick Comparison

Mailgun vs Mailchimp — Features Comparison

Mailgun

Think of Mailgun as the engine under the hood. It’s not flashy, but it gets emails where they need to go. The platform keeps detailed logs for 30 days (most competitors give you way less), and it actually validates email addresses before sending. Syntax errors, DNS problems, typos – it catches them.

What makes developers love it? The API is rock-solid. You can send transactional emails, handle inbound processing, get real-time webhooks when stuff happens. It just works, and when it doesn’t, you get enough data to figure out why.

But here’s where it gets tricky: if you’re not comfortable with APIs or DNS records, Mailgun might feel like trying to fly a helicopter when you just wanted to drive to the store. The interface assumes you know what you’re doing.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is the friend who makes everything look easy. You want to send a newsletter? Drag some images around, write some text, hit send. Want to set up an automation? There’s probably a template for that. It’s genuinely impressive how much they’ve simplified email marketing.

The Customer Journey Builder lets you create these elaborate email sequences based on what people do. Someone abandons their cart? Boom, follow-up email. They open your welcome email but don’t click? Different email. It’s like having a really attentive sales assistant who never sleeps.

Plus they’ve got landing pages, social media tools, even website building now. It’s becoming this whole marketing ecosystem, which is great if you want everything in one place. Less great if you just need one thing to work really well.

Mailgun vs Mailchimp — Pricing Comparison

Here’s where things get interesting. Mailgun charges you for emails you actually send. Mailchimp charges you for contacts you store, whether you email them or not.

If you’ve got 10,000 subscribers but only email them twice a month, Mailchimp’s pricing can sting. You’re paying for those contacts sitting there doing nothing. With Mailgun, you’d pay for maybe 20,000 emails and call it a day.

But if you’re sending daily emails to a smaller, engaged list? Mailchimp’s unlimited sending starts looking pretty good. It’s one of those “it depends” situations that makes comparing these platforms tricky.

Mailgun vs Mailchimp — Free Plan Comparison

Mailgun’s free plan is actually pretty generous – unlimited contacts, just capped at 1,000 emails per month. Perfect for testing or small transactional needs.

Mailchimp’s free plan has gotten… less exciting over the years. They removed automations, capped contacts at 500, and you get their branding on everything. It’s more of a trial than a real free plan now.

Neither free plan will run a serious business, but Mailgun’s gives you more room to grow before hitting the paywall.

Pros & Cons

Mailgun

Mailgun is for teams who need emails to work perfectly, every time. The kind of reliability where a failed password reset email means angry customers and lost revenue.

The downside? You need someone who knows their way around APIs and DNS settings. It’s not hard, but it’s not intuitive either. If your team is more “marketing” than “engineering,” you might struggle.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp democratized email marketing. Seriously – you can build professional campaigns without knowing a line of code. The automation features are genuinely powerful, and the interface just makes sense.

The catch is cost. As your list grows, those monthly bills can get painful. And lately, some users report delivery issues – emails ending up in spam folders when they shouldn’t. Not great when you’re paying premium prices.

Mailgun vs Mailchimp — User Testimonials & Reviews

Overall rating:

4.2

/5

G2:

4.2

Trustpilot:

4.2

Capterra:

4.3

See other alternatives

Overall rating:

3.9

/5

G2:

4.3

Trustpilot:

2.8

Capterra:

4.5

See other alternatives

The real answer? Pick Mailgun if you need bulletproof transactional emails and have technical chops. Choose Mailchimp if you want comprehensive marketing tools and prefer clicking over coding. Or consider Sender.net if you want both marketing features and reasonable pricing without the complexity.

About author

Marija

Author

Sender

Marija is a content manager with a background in editorial, writing, and email marketing since 2017. She has built her career around crafting and curating content, from editing articles to managing social media strategies. Now, she regularly tests different tools and keeps an eye on the latest trends of marketing. When she's not online, you'll probably find her on the top of some mountain.