Self-hosted, one-time license

Mailgun alternatives, and what to run on top of them

Mailgun is a solid developer-first sending service, but it’s hosted infrastructure that prices by volume, and the marketing features sit behind separate paid plans. Broadcast is the marketing platform you run on your own server for a one-time license (lists, campaigns, automations, and unsubscribe handling) and it sends through Mailgun, Amazon SES, Postmark, or any SMTP.

Buy Broadcast for $250 Calculate your savings

The short answer

For a like-for-like transactional sending swap, the closest Mailgun alternatives are Amazon SES (cheapest), Postmark (easiest), and SendGrid. For the marketing side (managing subscribers and sending newsletters and automations) Broadcast is the self-hosted, one-time-purchase ($250) alternative: unlimited subscribers, no per-contact billing, and it sends through Mailgun or any other ESP underneath. It’s the only one here you own outright.

At a Glance

What it is
Mailgun: Sending API + SaaS
Broadcast: Owned marketing platform
Pricing
Mailgun: Monthly, by volume
Broadcast: $250 one-time
Sending
Mailgun: Their infrastructure
Broadcast: SES, Postmark, Mailgun, SMTP
Data & residency
Mailgun: Their servers
Broadcast: Your server

Straight answer: if you use Mailgun purely as a transactional sending API, Broadcast isn’t a direct swap: Amazon SES, Postmark, or SendGrid are. Broadcast replaces the marketing layer: the lists, campaigns, segmentation, and automations you’d otherwise bolt on. And since Broadcast brings its own delivery integration, you can keep Mailgun as the SMTP relay and just move the platform you own onto your own server. Pick the delivery backend on price and deliverability; own the marketing platform either way.

Mailgun alternatives compared

Sending services that replace Mailgun, and the marketing layer that sits on top

Service What it is Pick it when
Amazon SESSending API and SMTP, about $0.10 per 1,000 emailsCost matters most and you are fine with a bare console
PostmarkSending API and SMTP with separate streams for transactional and broadcast mailYou want fast delivery and clear logs with little setup
SendGridSending API and SMTP from Twilio, with a marketing add-onYou already use Twilio or need its integrations
ResendDeveloper-first sending APIYou build emails in code and want a modern API
Any SMTP relaySMTP from your host or another providerYou have a relay you trust already
BroadcastSelf-hosted marketing platform, $250 once. Sends through any of the above, or MailgunYou need lists, campaigns and sequences, not only an API

For a closer look at the sending services, see Postmark vs Mailgun vs Amazon SES. The rest of this page compares Broadcast with Mailgun’s marketing features.

Feature Comparison

Broadcast vs Mailgun for marketing email

Feature Broadcast Mailgun
Self-hostedYes, your serverNo (SaaS only)
Pricing$250 one-timeMonthly, by volume
Subscribers/contactsUnlimitedMarketing tiers by count
Transactional Email APIUse your ESP for thatCore strength
Campaigns & templatesBuilt-inSeparate marketing plan
Automations / sequencesBuilt-inLimited
Choice of sending providerSES, Postmark, Mailgun, SMTPMailgun only
Developer APIRESTfulExtensive
Data ownership / residencyYour server (EU-friendly)Their SaaS (US/EU regions)
Setup & maintenanceYou self-hostFully managed

Mailgun wins on managed transactional infrastructure and API depth. Broadcast wins when you want to own the marketing platform and keep the sending provider flexible. Compare backends in our SES vs Postmark vs Mailgun guide.

Who Should Choose What

Choose Broadcast if you…

  • • Used Mailgun’s marketing features and want to own them
  • • Are tired of volume/contact-based monthly pricing
  • • Want lists, campaigns, and automations in one place
  • • Want to choose or switch your sending provider freely
  • • Prefer a one-time license to a subscription

Stay on Mailgun (or SES/Postmark) if you…

  • • Need a managed transactional Email API for app mail
  • • Don’t want to run any server yourself
  • • Rely on Mailgun’s inbound routing or validation tools
  • • Send purely transactional volume with no marketing layer

Tip: keep Mailgun for app mail and run Broadcast on top for the marketing list.

Frequently Asked Questions

For Mailgun’s marketing features, yes. For its transactional sending API, no: Broadcast is a marketing platform, not a raw sending service. Many teams keep Mailgun (or move to SES) for app mail and run Broadcast for the marketing list.
Yes. Point Broadcast at Mailgun’s SMTP and keep your existing sending setup, or switch to Amazon SES, Postmark, or SendGrid whenever it suits you. The delivery backend is decoupled from the platform.
For raw sending, Amazon SES is the cheapest backend and open-source list managers like Listmonk are free. Broadcast is a one-time-purchase, source-available platform that adds automations, segmentation, templates, and support on top of whatever ESP you choose. See our self-hosted comparison.
Broadcast is $250 once, plus your sending provider and a small server. If you point it at Amazon SES (~$0.10 per 1,000 emails), the ongoing cost is usually well below Mailgun’s monthly plans at scale. Estimate it on the savings calculator.

Own your marketing platform

Self-hosted, buy-once, no per-contact billing, on top of Mailgun or any ESP.

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Related

SES vs Postmark vs Mailgun
Pick your delivery backend
SendGrid Alternative
Own the marketing layer
Supported Email Providers
Bring your own ESP

Still deciding?

Comparisons cover the tradeoffs. How To covers whether Broadcast does the specific thing you need, organized by what you are trying to accomplish rather than by feature name. If the answer is no, it says no.

Browse How To Segment subscribers Branch a sequence Bring an existing list