Mailgun Pricing 2026: $15, $35 or $90/mo, Plus Overage
Mailgun prices its email API by monthly volume. As published on 3 November 2026: Free at 100 emails a day; Basic from $15 a month for 10,000 emails, with overage from $1.80 per 1,000; Foundation $35 for 50,000 or $75 for 100,000, overage from $1.30; Scale from $90 for 100,000 up to $700 for 1 million, overage from $1.10. Log retention runs from 1 day on Free and Basic to 30 days on Scale, and one dedicated IP is included from Foundation 100k. Because the overage rates differ so much, Basic stops being the cheap option at about 21,000 emails a month, and at 100,000 Foundation ($75) is cheaper than Scale ($90).
Mailgun publishes its overage rates, which means you can work out the real cost before you sign up. Most people don't, and pick the wrong tier.
Everything below came from Mailgun’s own pricing page on 3 November 2026, in US dollars. Mailgun also shows euro and sterling prices; the Basic overage, for example, is €1.70 or £1.45 per 1,000.
The plans, as published
| Plan | Price | Included | Overage per 1,000 | Logs | Notable limits and extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 100 emails/day | n/a | 1 day | 1 sending domain, 2 API keys, 1 inbound route |
| Basic | $15/mo | 10,000/mo | from $1.80 | 1 day | No daily limit, 1 sending domain, 5 inbound routes |
| Foundation | $35/mo for 50,000, or $75/mo for 100,000 (first month free) | 50,000–100,000/mo | from $1.30 (from $1.10 at 100k) | 5 days | 1,000 sending domains, template builder, full inbound routing, 1-day message retention; one dedicated IP included at 100k |
| Scale | $90 (100k), $215 (250k), $400 (500k), $550 (750k), $700 (1M) (first month free) | 100,000–1M+/mo | from $1.10, falling to $0.50 at 1M | 30 days | One dedicated IP included, IP pools, SAML SSO, 5,000 validations, send-time optimisation, phone and chat support, up to 7-day message retention |
Foundation and Scale prices change with Mailgun’s volume slider; the tiers above are the ones it shows, read from the page. Overage falls at each higher tier. Enterprise is priced on application. As published on 3 November 2026.
What you actually pay at your volume
Arithmetic on the published entry prices and overage rates, choosing the cheapest plan at each volume:
| Emails per month | Cheapest plan | Monthly cost | Working |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,000 | Free | $0 | Under 100 a day |
| 10,000 | Basic | $15 | Included volume |
| 20,000 | Basic | $33 | $15 + 10 × $1.80 |
| 50,000 | Foundation 50k | $35 | Included volume (Basic would be $87) |
| 100,000 | Foundation 100k | $75 | Included volume (Scale is $90) |
| 200,000 | Foundation 100k + overage | $185 | $75 + 100 × $1.10 (Scale 250k is $215) |
| 250,000 | Scale 250k | $215 | Included volume |
| 500,000 | Scale 500k | $400 | Included volume |
| 1,000,000 | Scale 1M | $700 | Included volume |
- Basic to Foundation: Basic costs $15 plus $1.80 per 1,000 over 10,000, so it overtakes Foundation’s $35 at about 21,000 emails a month.
- Foundation 50k to 100k: $35 plus $1.30 per 1,000 overtakes the $75 Foundation 100k tier at about 81,000 emails.
- Scale is not the cheapest at 100,000. Foundation 100k is $75 against Scale’s $90; Scale only wins on price from about 230,000 emails a month. Below that, you pay for Scale’s 30-day logs, SSO, validations and phone support.
- Plan for your busiest month. Transactional volume follows user activity, so a successful launch can push you onto the overage rate exactly when you are not watching it.
The costs the plan price doesn't show
- Log retention. One day on Free and Basic means a delivery problem reported tomorrow can no longer be investigated. Five days on Foundation, 30 on Scale.
- Email validation is extra. Validations start at $1.20 per 100 on Basic and Foundation, falling with volume, and from $0.80 per 100 on Scale (which includes 5,000).
- Dedicated IPs. One is included with Foundation 100k and Scale; extra IPs are $59 per IP per month.
- Optimize and Inspect are separate products. Inbox-placement testing, reputation monitoring and email previews sit on their own pricing pages, not inside Send plans.
- One sending domain below Foundation. Free and Basic allow a single custom domain, which rules them out for agencies or multi-brand senders.
Mailgun, or one platform for transactional and marketing
Mailgun is a developer email API: excellent routing, inbound parsing and validation, no marketing suite. If you also send newsletters, you will run a second platform alongside it, with its own contacts, DNS records and bill.
Bluey’s transactional API runs on the same account as campaigns and the CRM, with the two streams metered separately. Whether that beats a specialist depends on whether you need marketing at all; the Bluey vs Mailgun comparison sets out where each wins.
Mailgun pricing FAQ
How much does Mailgun cost?
As published on 3 November 2026: Free (100 emails a day), Basic from $15 a month for 10,000 emails, Foundation $35 for 50,000 or $75 for 100,000, and Scale from $90 for 100,000 to $700 for 1 million. Enterprise is quoted.
What is Mailgun's API pricing per email?
The API and SMTP relay are priced the same way: included volume per plan, then overage from $1.80 per 1,000 on Basic, $1.30 on Foundation and $1.10 on Scale, falling to $0.50 per 1,000 at Scale's 1M tier.
Is Mailgun free?
There is a free plan at 100 emails a day with one sending domain and one day of logs. It suits testing and very small apps; production volume needs Basic or above. Foundation and Scale also start with a free first month.
Does Mailgun charge for inbound email?
Inbound routes are included: 1 on Free, 5 on Basic and full inbound routing from Foundation.
Which Mailgun plan should I choose?
Pick by volume, not headline price: Basic up to about 21,000 emails a month, Foundation (50k, then 100k from about 81,000) up to about 230,000, and Scale above that or when you need 30-day logs, SSO or phone support.
Related
Start sending in an afternoon.
Spin up Bluey free, get your email trusted, and send your first campaign today.