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Marketing · head to head

Kissmetrics vs Mailgun

Kissmetrics logo

Kissmetrics

Marketing

Customer analytics and behavioral data

From
Free
Rated
-
Mailgun logo

Mailgun

Marketing

Email delivery built for developers

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Kissmetrics overages are added automatically to the next invoice rather than blocked, so exceeding an event allowance bills without a decision point; Mailgun free tier limited to 100 emails per day, restricting high-volume use cases
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kissmetrics and Mailgun actually diverge.

Attributes where Kissmetrics and Mailgun differ
AttributeKissmetricsMailgun
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Marketing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Kissmetrics

  • Customer analytics
  • Behavioral tracking
  • Cohort analysis
  • Funnel analysis
  • Salesforce
  • GDPR
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

Only in Mailgun

Nothing recorded that Kissmetrics does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Kissmetrics

  • Product analytics and user behavior trackingnot Mailgun
  • Event-based analyticsnot Mailgun
  • Data integration and reportingnot Mailgun

Mailgun

  • Transactional email delivery and SMTP relaynot Kissmetrics
  • Email marketing at scale for developers and enterprisesnot Kissmetrics

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Kissmetrics

  • Overages are added automatically to the next invoice rather than blocked, so exceeding an event allowance bills without a decision point
  • The free plan allows 100,000 events a month
  • Per event rates fall with volume, from $0.20 per 1,000 events on Growth to $0.10 on Gold, so smaller customers pay double per event
  • The vendor states Growth, Silver and Gold are the identical product, so the paid tiers differ only in unit price and volume
  • Anything above 5 million events is custom priced

Mailgun

  • Free tier limited to 100 emails per day, restricting high-volume use cases
  • Log retention minimal on lower tiers (1 day on Free and Basic plans)
  • Add-on pricing for email validations and extra emails can accumulate quickly for high-traffic users

Pricing, plan by plan

Kissmetrics

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100,000 events/month
    • Autocapture tracking
    • AI chat
  • Growth$99/month
    • Starting at 500k events
    • $0.20 per 1k events
    • Populations
  • Silver$null/month
    • $0.15 per 1k events
    • All Growth features
  • Gold$null/month
    • $0.10 per 1k events (at 5M+ events)
    • All Growth features

Mailgun

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100 emails per day
    • Basic APIs
    • SMTP relay
  • Basic$15/monthly
    • 10,000 emails per month
    • No daily limits
    • Monthly overage options
  • Foundation$35/monthly
    • 50,000 emails per month
    • 1,000 custom domains
    • Email template builder
  • Scale$90/monthly
    • 100,000 emails per month
    • SAML SSO
    • 5,000 email validations

Which should you pick?

Choose Kissmetrics if

  • You need customer analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want behavioral tracking.

Choose Mailgun if

  • You want to start without paying.

Questions people ask

Is Kissmetrics or Mailgun better?
Neither clearly leads. Kissmetrics starts at Free and Mailgun at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kissmetrics or Mailgun?
Kissmetrics starts at Free and Mailgun at Free.
Does Kissmetrics or Mailgun run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Kissmetrics for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Kissmetrics best used for?
Kissmetrics is most often used for product analytics and user behavior tracking, event-based analytics, data integration and reporting. Of those, product analytics and user behavior tracking and event-based analytics are not what Mailgun is typically brought in for.
What can Kissmetrics do that Mailgun cannot?
Kissmetrics covers Customer analytics, Behavioral tracking, Cohort analysis, Funnel analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kissmetrics: Does KISSmetrics have a free plan?

Yes, KISSmetrics offers a free plan with 100,000 events/month including autocapture tracking, dashboards, and core reports. No card required.

Source
Mailgun: What happens when I exceed my monthly email quota?

Mailgun allows monthly overage options on paid plans. Extra emails are charged from $1.30 to $1.10 per 1,000 emails depending on plan tier. Enterprise customers negotiate custom rates.

Source
Kissmetrics: What does KISSmetrics charge for paid plans?

Growth plan starts at $99/month for 500k events, charging $0.20 per additional 1k events. Silver and Gold tiers offer lower per-event rates at higher volumes.

Source
Mailgun: Can I upgrade from Free to a paid plan and when does billing begin?

Yes, you can upgrade to paid plans anytime. The first month is free on Foundation ($35/month) and Scale ($90/month) plans, with billing starting on month two.

Source
Kissmetrics: Does KISSmetrics offer annual discounts?

Yes, annual plans receive 20% off monthly rates. Overage charges are automatically added to the next invoice.

Source
Mailgun: What currencies and billing periods does Mailgun support?

Mailgun supports monthly billing in USD, EUR, and GBP. Charges are prorated for mid-month signups. Annual billing options are not explicitly listed on the pricing page.

Source
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