Resend vs Mailgun comes down to free tier, price and what you optimize for. Resend has the more generous free tier, and the cheaper paid entry point is $15/mo. Resend stands out for best-in-class developer experience (React Email, type-safe), while Mailgun stands out for flexible routing and inbound processing.
- Resend free tier: 3,000 emails/mo (100/day).
- Mailgun free tier: 100 emails/day (~3,000/mo), 1-day log retention, 1 custom domain.
- Resend from $20/mo; Mailgun from $15/mo.
- Resend for best-in-class developer experience (React Email, type-safe); Mailgun for flexible routing and inbound processing.
Resend vs Mailgun: side by side
| Resend | Mailgun | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 3,000 emails/mo (100/day). | 100 emails/day (~3,000/mo), 1-day log retention, 1 custom domain. |
| Entry paid | $20/mo | $15/mo |
| Entry detail | Pro $20/mo (50,000), $35/mo (100,000). Scale from $90/mo. Overage $0.90/1k. | Basic $15/mo (10,000), Foundation $35/mo (50,000), Scale $90/mo (100,000). |
| Dedicated IP | $30/mo (Scale) | 1 included on Foundation 100k / Scale; extra IPs $59/IP/mo |
| Best for | Best-in-class developer experience (React Email, type-safe) | Flexible routing and inbound processing |
| Watch out | Newer at very large scale | Recent price increases push teams to compare |
Resend and Mailgun take different approaches to transactional email. Resend is free up to 3,000 emails/mo (100/day), then paid plans run $20/mo for 50,000, $35/mo for 100,000, and $90/mo for 100,000, with overage from $0.90 / 1k; dedicated IP: $30/mo (Scale).
Mailgun is free up to 100 emails/day (~3,000/mo), then paid plans run $15/mo for 10,000, $35/mo for 50,000, and $90/mo for 100,000, with overage from $1.80 / 1k; dedicated IP: 1 included on Foundation 100k / Scale. Mailgun is known for flexible routing and inbound processing and easy migration from SendGrid (REST/SMTP/webhooks parity).
For a Next.js codebase, the choice usually comes down to free-tier headroom and developer experience versus deliverability guarantees. The default pick for Next.js: resend SDK + react-email, sent type-safely from a Route Handler. If a handful of emails absolutely must reach the inbox, weight deliverability more heavily; if you want the fastest start, favor the larger free tier and the better SDK. Pricing was verified on 2026-06-04.
// app/api/send/route.ts
import { Resend } from "resend";
const resend = new Resend(process.env.RESEND_API_KEY!);
export async function POST(req: Request) {
const { to, subject, html } = await req.json();
// was: resend.emails.send({ from, to, subject, html })
const { data, error } = await resend.emails.send({
from: "noreply@yourdomain.com", to, subject, html,
});
return error
? Response.json({ error }, { status: 500 })
: Response.json({ id: data?.id });
}FAQ
- Which is cheaper, Resend or Mailgun?
- At the entry tier, Resend is $20/mo and Mailgun is $15/mo; for low volume the one with the larger free tier (Resend) is effectively cheaper.
- Which has the bigger free tier, Resend or Mailgun?
- Resend. Resend: 3,000 emails/mo (100/day). Mailgun: 100 emails/day (~3,000/mo), 1-day log retention, 1 custom domain.