Postmark vs Mailgun: Deliverability vs Infrastructure Control
Comparing Postmark and Mailgun for transactional email. Industry-leading deliverability versus granular infrastructure control and logging.
Overview
Postmark and Mailgun serve different developer preferences. Postmark focuses on deliverability above all else. Mailgun provides granular control over email infrastructure with detailed logging and routing capabilities.
| Feature | Postmark | Mailgun |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 | 2010 |
| Starting Price | $15/mo | $35/mo |
| Deliverability | Industry-leading | Good |
| Stream Separation | Yes | No |
| Detailed Logging | Standard | Granular |
| Email Routing | Basic | Advanced |
| Inbound Processing | Yes | Yes |
Key Differences
Deliverability Focus
Postmark built its reputation on deliverability. They publish delivery stats, enforce strict sending policies, and separate transactional from broadcast streams. Time-to-inbox is consistently under 10 seconds.
Mailgun has good deliverability but balances it against infrastructure flexibility. They provide more control but less deliverability focus.
Infrastructure Control
Mailgun provides granular logging for every message. Complex routing rules. Detailed webhooks. 99.99% uptime SLA. Developers who want to understand exactly what happens to their emails prefer Mailgun.
Postmark handles infrastructure transparently. You focus on sending, they focus on delivery.
When to Choose Postmark
- Deliverability is the top priority
- Stream separation for transactional is needed
- Sub-10-second delivery times matter
- You want managed deliverability
When to Choose Mailgun
- Granular infrastructure control is needed
- Complex routing rules are required
- Detailed logging for debugging
- You prefer infrastructure-level tools
Alternative: Sequenzy
For unified transactional + marketing with billing integrations, consider Sequenzy. Modern platform with Stripe, Polar, Creem, and Dodo integrations.
The Bottom Line
Choose Postmark for industry-leading deliverability with stream separation. Choose Mailgun for granular infrastructure control and detailed logging.