Is Mailgun or Optimove better?

Neither clearly leads. Mailgun starts at Free and Optimove at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Mailgun or Optimove?

Mailgun has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Mailgun and On request for Optimove.

Does Mailgun or Optimove run on more platforms?

Mailgun runs on Web. Optimove runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.

Can I use Mailgun for free?

Yes. Mailgun has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Optimove starts at On request.

What is Mailgun best used for?

Mailgun is most often used for transactional email delivery and smtp relay, email marketing at scale for developers and enterprises. Of those, transactional email delivery and smtp relay and email marketing at scale for developers and enterprises are not what Optimove is typically brought in for.

What can Mailgun do that Optimove cannot?

Optimove covers Customer modelling, Mandatory control groups, Optibot, Multichannel orchestration.

Marketing · head to head

Mailgun vs Optimove

Mailgun

Marketing

Email delivery built for developers

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Optimove

Marketing

Retention marketing platform that forces control groups and reports uplift per customer

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Mailgun has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Mailgun free tier limited to 100 emails per day, restricting high-volume use cases; Optimove it requires a customer-level data feed with transactions before it does anything useful, and mapping that feed typically takes weeks of joint work rather than days.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mailgun and Optimove actually diverge.

Attributes where Mailgun and Optimove differ
Attribute	Mailgun	Optimove
Starting price	Free	On request
Pricing model	subscription	quote
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android, REST API

Identical on both: 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 Mailgun

Nothing recorded that Optimove does not also cover.

Only in Optimove

Customer modelling
Mandatory control groups
Optibot
Multichannel orchestration
Self-optimising campaigns
Realtime triggers

What people use each for

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

Mailgun

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

Optimove

An operator that has to prove incremental revenue from retention marketing to a finance committeenot Mailgun
Segmenting a customer base by predicted value and lifecycle stage rather than by campaign list membershipnot Mailgun
Running hundreds of small always-on campaigns where per-campaign uplift decides which survivenot Mailgun
Coordinating retention messaging with paid audience suppression so lapsed customers are not paid for twicenot Mailgun

Where each one falls short

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

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

Optimove

It requires a customer-level data feed with transactions before it does anything useful, and mapping that feed typically takes weeks of joint work rather than days.
Pricing is based on tracked customers, so an inflated database of accounts that will never return costs money exactly like an unpruned email list does.
The modelling layer is largely opaque, so when a lifecycle stage assignment looks wrong there is limited ability to inspect why beyond vendor support.
The interface is dense and built for daily operators, and occasional users typically never become independent in it.
Email delivery is through bundled or third-party sending infrastructure rather than an in-house ESP, which adds a party to any deliverability investigation.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Optimove

On request

Optimove$undefined/year
- Priced by number of tracked customers
- Channel modules and Kumulos-derived mobile messaging licensed separately
- Annual contract including onboarding services

Which should you pick?

Choose Mailgun if

You want to start without paying.

Mailgun review

Choose Optimove if

You need customer modelling.
You work on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
You also want mandatory control groups.

Optimove review

Questions people ask

Is Mailgun or Optimove better?: Neither clearly leads. Mailgun starts at Free and Optimove at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mailgun or Optimove?: Mailgun has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Mailgun and On request for Optimove.
Does Mailgun or Optimove run on more platforms?: Mailgun runs on Web. Optimove runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
Can I use Mailgun for free?: Yes. Mailgun has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Optimove starts at On request.
What is Mailgun best used for?: Mailgun is most often used for transactional email delivery and smtp relay, email marketing at scale for developers and enterprises. Of those, transactional email delivery and smtp relay and email marketing at scale for developers and enterprises are not what Optimove is typically brought in for.
What can Mailgun do that Optimove cannot?: Optimove covers Customer modelling, Mandatory control groups, Optibot, Multichannel orchestration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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

Optimove: Why does it insist on control groups?

Because uplift is the reported metric. Without a holdout the platform cannot attribute revenue, and the reporting that justifies the licence stops working.

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

Optimove: Is it only for iGaming?

No, but that is where its density of customers and its default lifecycle models are strongest. Subscription retail and financial services are the other common verticals.

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

Optimove: Can it send email itself?

It orchestrates and personalises, then sends through connected delivery infrastructure. Deliverability remains a shared responsibility with that provider.

Mailgun vs Optimove

Mailgun

Optimove

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Mailgun

Only in Optimove

What people use each for

Mailgun

Optimove

Where each one falls short

Mailgun

Optimove

Pricing, plan by plan

Mailgun

Optimove

Which should you pick?

Choose Mailgun if

Choose Optimove if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Mailgun

More on Optimove

Keep looking

Other head to heads