12 Best Mandrill Alternatives

Our Pick for SaaS Companies

Sequenzy

Unified transactional + marketing for SaaS. No separate tools needed. Native Stripe integration means your billing events automatically trigger the right emails.

Describe the sequence you want — onboarding, dunning, trial conversion — and the AI writes it, no copywriter needed. Unlike Mandrill, there's no ecosystem dependency; you sign up, connect Stripe, and start sending in minutes. The combined transactional and marketing approach means one platform handles password resets, receipts, drip campaigns, and newsletters without block-pricing confusion.

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Best for

SaaS founders who want one platform for everything

Pricing

$49/month for 10,000 subscribers (300k emails)

Pros

No Mailchimp required
Transactional + marketing unified
Native Stripe integration
AI-powered sequences
Simpler than block pricing

Cons

API only (no SMTP)
No inbound email
Dedicated IPs enterprise only
Newer platform

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SendGrid

Industry-standard transactional email from Twilio. Reliable, scalable, developer-friendly.

The go-to choice for most companies needing transactional email at scale. SendGrid handles billions of emails monthly and offers both a robust REST API and SMTP relay, so you can integrate however your stack prefers. Marketing Campaigns is included for basic broadcast needs, though it's not as polished as dedicated marketing tools. The free tier gives you 100 emails per day to test, and paid plans start at $19.95/month for 50k emails — no Mailchimp subscription required.

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Best for

Developers who need proven reliability at scale

Pricing

$19.95/month for 50,000 emails (Essentials)

Pros

Industry standard
Excellent API
SMTP support
Scales well
Twilio ecosystem

Cons

Marketing features bolted on
UI can be confusing
Support varies by tier
Complexity for simple needs

Postmark

Transactional email focused on deliverability. Fast delivery, excellent support, no marketing.

If delivery speed and inbox placement are paramount, Postmark is the specialist. They actively reject high-risk senders to protect shared IP reputation, which is why their inbox rates consistently beat competitors. Message Streams let you separate transactional and broadcast traffic on different IP pools for maximum control. At $15/month for 10k emails, it's pricier per-email than SendGrid but you're paying for deliverability guarantees that Mandrill's shared Mailchimp infrastructure can't match.

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Best for

Teams who prioritize deliverability above all

Pricing

$15/month for 10,000 emails

Pros

Fastest delivery times
Excellent deliverability
Great support
Dedicated IP included at scale
Clean, focused product

Cons

Transactional only
No marketing features
Smaller scale than SendGrid
Higher per-email cost at volume

Resend

Modern transactional email with beautiful developer experience. Built for the React/Next.js generation.

If you love great APIs and modern tooling, Resend is refreshing. Their React Email library lets you build templates in JSX with full TypeScript support — a huge upgrade over Mandrill's template syntax. The API design is clean and consistent, SDKs are available for every major language, and the documentation is some of the best in the space. At $20/month for 50k emails with a generous 3,000/month free tier, it's a compelling upgrade for developer teams tired of Mandrill's Mailchimp-first approach.

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Best for

Modern dev teams who appreciate great DX

Pricing

$20/month for 50,000 emails

Pros

Beautiful API and docs
Modern developer experience
React Email integration
Fast growing
Generous free tier

Cons

Newer company
Less proven at enterprise scale
Limited marketing features
Smaller feature set

Amazon SES

Raw email infrastructure at rock-bottom prices. If you have AWS expertise and want maximum control at minimum cost, SES is unbeatable on price.

At $0.10 per 1,000 emails, sending 50k transactional emails costs about $5 — compared to Mandrill's $20 in blocks plus a Mailchimp subscription. You get full control over DKIM, SPF, and bounce handling, plus native integration with other AWS services like Lambda and SNS for webhook processing. The tradeoff is real: there's no UI, no template builder, and you manage your own sender reputation entirely. Best for teams with email expertise who want infrastructure, not a product.

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Best for

Technical teams who want lowest possible cost

Pricing

$0.10 per 1,000 emails

Pros

Cheapest at scale
AWS reliability
Unlimited scalability
Full control
EC2 integration

Cons

No UI/templates
You manage deliverability
AWS expertise required
Raw infrastructure only

Mailgun

Developer-focused email API now owned by Sinch. Good balance of features and pricing.

Solid SMTP and API options with email validation built in. Mailgun's inbound email routing is a standout feature — it can parse incoming emails and forward them to your app via webhooks, useful for support ticket systems and reply handling. The email validation API helps you catch bad addresses before sending, reducing bounces and protecting your reputation. At $35/month for 50k emails, pricing sits between budget options and premium services, though ownership changes from Rackspace to Mailgun to Sinch have some users watching for stability.

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Best for

Developers who want solid API with extras

Pricing

$35/month for 50,000 emails

Pros

Good API
Email validation included
SMTP support
Flexible plans
Inbound email routing

Cons

Ownership changes
UI feels dated
Support varies
Marketing features limited

Brevo

Budget-friendly transactional + marketing. Formerly Sendinblue. Good if you want both types of email without separate tools.

Better pricing than Mandrill. Brevo's transactional API lets you send password resets, order confirmations, and receipts alongside marketing campaigns from a single account — no Mailchimp dependency. The unlimited contacts model means you pay for sends, not list size, which is ideal for apps with many registered users who receive occasional transactional messages. SMS is included on the same platform, useful if you need two-factor authentication or order notifications. The developer experience isn't as polished as Resend or Postmark, but at $15/month for 20k emails, the value is hard to beat.

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Best for

Budget-conscious teams who need both types

Pricing

$15/month for 20,000 emails (transactional add-on)

Pros

Transactional + marketing
Very affordable
SMS available
CRM included
No Mailchimp required

Cons

Less developer focused
API not as polished
Deliverability varies
Can be complex

SparkPost

Enterprise transactional email with predictive analytics. Now part of MessageBird/Bird.

Good for high-volume senders who need advanced analytics. SparkPost's Signals product provides predictive deliverability insights, alerting you to reputation issues before they impact inbox placement — something Mandrill doesn't offer. The platform handles massive volumes with proven infrastructure that powers a significant percentage of commercial email worldwide. However, the acquisition by MessageBird (now Bird) and the shift toward enterprise-only sales has made it harder for smaller teams to access. Custom pricing means you'll need to talk to sales, which is a significant friction increase over Mandrill's self-serve model.

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Best for

Enterprise teams with high volume

Pricing

Custom pricing (contact sales)

Pros

High-volume focus
Predictive analytics
Good deliverability
Enterprise features
Signals product insights

Cons

Enterprise pricing
Complex for small teams
Ownership changes
Sales-driven

Mailjet

Email API with real-time collaboration. European company (GDPR-focused). Good for teams who need both transactional and marketing with collaborative editing.

Mailjet's standout feature is the collaborative template builder where multiple team members can edit email templates simultaneously — useful for agencies or marketing teams with review processes. Being EU-based with data stored in European data centers makes GDPR compliance straightforward, a genuine advantage for companies with European customers. The API supports both transactional and marketing sends, so you avoid the Mandrill problem of needing Mailchimp for marketing. At $25/month for 15k emails, it's mid-range pricing, though the interface hasn't kept pace with newer competitors like Resend.

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Best for

European teams with GDPR requirements

Pricing

$25/month for 15,000 emails

Pros

Real-time collaboration
GDPR compliant (EU)
Transactional + marketing
Good deliverability
Template builder

Cons

UI feels dated
Not as developer-focused
Marketing features basic
Smaller scale than leaders

#10

Elastic Email

Budget transactional email with marketing features. Very low prices. Good for bootstrapped startups watching every dollar.

Elastic Email offers both API and SMTP relay for transactional sending, plus a campaign builder for marketing emails — all from one account without Mandrill's Mailchimp requirement. Their email validation tool helps keep bounce rates low, and the analytics dashboard covers the basics well. At $25/month for 25k emails with simple per-email pricing, it's straightforward to budget. The platform isn't as developer-polished as Resend or as deliverability-focused as Postmark, but for startups that need functional email infrastructure at the lowest possible cost, it delivers.

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Best for

Bootstrapped teams who need lowest cost

Pricing

$25/month for 25,000 emails

Pros

Very affordable
Transactional + marketing
Simple pricing
Good for starters
SMTP available

Cons

Deliverability varies
Support limited
Less sophisticated
UI dated

#11

SMTP2GO

SMTP-focused email delivery. If you need reliable SMTP relay without complex APIs, SMTP2GO keeps it simple.

Good for legacy applications. SMTP2GO is ideal for applications that already use SMTP — swap your SMTP credentials, and you're migrated from Mandrill without rewriting code. The platform includes email archiving that stores copies of every sent email for compliance and debugging, plus an SMTP testing tool for development. Setup takes minutes rather than hours, which is a significant advantage for teams that aren't API-first. At $25/month for 10k emails, it's pricier per-email than some alternatives, but the simplicity and SMTP-native approach justify it for teams that value straightforward migration.

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Best for

Teams who prefer SMTP over APIs

Pricing

$25/month for 10,000 emails

Pros

SMTP focus
Simple setup
Good deliverability
Email archiving
Easy migration

Cons

Less API features
Marketing basic
Smaller company
No advanced analytics

#12

Loops

Modern email for SaaS with transactional built-in. Similar to Sequenzy in focus. Good if you want a modern, unified platform for software companies.

Loops combines transactional emails (password resets, receipts) with marketing campaigns and automated sequences in a single clean interface designed specifically for SaaS. The onboarding is smooth, the UI is modern, and all features are available on every plan — no tiered feature gates. At $99/month for 5,000 contacts it's pricier than transactional-only alternatives, but you're getting a complete email platform for software businesses. If you're a SaaS company tired of juggling Mandrill for transactional and another tool for marketing, Loops unifies both.

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Best for

SaaS teams who want modern unified platform

Pricing

$99/month for 5,000 contacts

Pros

SaaS focused
Transactional included
Modern UI
Good onboarding
Fast growing

Cons

More expensive
Smaller team
Less proven at scale
Newer platform

Why Consider Alternatives to Mandrill

Mandrill requires Mailchimp

You can't use Mandrill standalone. You need a paid Mailchimp Standard or Premium plan ($20+/month) just to access transactional email. Alternatives like SendGrid, Postmark, or Resend work independently.

Block pricing is confusing

Mandrill's 25,000-email blocks that don't roll over are hard to predict. Alternatives offer simpler per-email or monthly pricing that's easier to budget.

You're locked into Mailchimp's ecosystem

Mandrill ties you to Mailchimp for marketing. If you want flexibility to use different tools for marketing and transactional, independent providers give you that freedom.

You need developer-first tools

Mandrill works but isn't developer-focused like SendGrid, Postmark, or Resend. If great APIs, docs, and DX matter to you, alternatives excel here.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Mandrill	SendGrid	Postmark	Resend	Amazon SES	Sequenzy
Price (50k emails)	$20 (blocks) + Mailchimp	$19.95	$75	$20	$5	$49 (300k)
Mailchimp required	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
SMTP
Marketing	Via Mailchimp
API quality	Good	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Technical	Good
Free tier	500 emails once	100/day	100/month	3,000/month	62k/month (EC2)	100 subs

When to Use Each Platform

Choose SendGrid if...

You need proven reliability at scale
Developer experience matters
You want both API and SMTP
Twilio integration is valuable

Choose Stay with Mandrill if...

You're already invested in Mailchimp
Template sync matters to you
You need inbound email processing
Switching cost isn't worth it

Choose Postmark if...

Deliverability is your top priority
You want transactional only (no marketing)
Fast delivery times matter
Great support is important

Choose Amazon SES if...

Cost is your primary concern
You have AWS expertise
You want full control
You're sending high volume

Choose Sequenzy if...

You're running a SaaS business
You want unified transactional + marketing
Stripe integration is valuable
No Mailchimp lock-in

Should you switch from Mandrill?

Mandrill is Mailchimp's transactional email add-on. It works, but requires Mailchimp and uses confusing block pricing. See our transactional email guide for what to look for in a provider. The block-based system charges $20 per 25,000 emails with no rollover — meaning unused emails evaporate at the end of the month, and predicting costs requires guessing your volume accurately. Add the mandatory Mailchimp Standard subscription ($20+/month) on top, and the true cost is higher than most standalone transactional providers. For teams that don't use Mailchimp for marketing, that subscription fee is pure waste.

Here's when switching makes sense:

If you don't use Mailchimp: Any alternative

Mandrill requires a paid Mailchimp subscription. If you're not using Mailchimp for marketing, you're paying for a service you don't use just to access transactional email. SendGrid, Postmark, or Resend work independently.

If you want simpler pricing: SendGrid, Resend, or Postmark

Mandrill's 25,000-email blocks that don't roll over are confusing to budget. SendGrid's $19.95 for 50k emails, Resend's $20/month, and Postmark's per-email pricing are all more predictable.

If developer experience matters: Resend or Postmark

Mandrill's API works but isn't developer-first. Resend has beautiful docs and modern tooling. Postmark has excellent API design and support. Both offer better DX. Check our API documentation for comparison.

If you're running a SaaS: Sequenzy

Mandrill is generic transactional email. Sequenzy combines transactional + marketing with Stripe integration for subscription businesses. No separate tools needed.

The pricing comparison

For 50,000 transactional emails:

Mandrill: $20 (2 blocks) + Mailchimp ($20+/mo) = $40+/month
SendGrid: $19.95/month
Resend: $20/month
Postmark: $75/month (premium deliverability)
Amazon SES: ~$5/month (self-managed)
Sequenzy: $49/month (includes 300k + marketing)

See our full pricing page for more comparisons.

When Mandrill is still the right choice

Stick with Mandrill if:

You're already heavily invested in Mailchimp
Template sync between marketing and transactional matters
You need inbound email processing for replies
Switching cost doesn't justify the savings

Mandrill works well as a Mailchimp add-on. If you love Mailchimp, the integration is seamless. Read our marketing tools guide and use our email validator to optimize your current setup before deciding to switch.

Frequently Asked Questions

All Pricing Tiers

0-100 subscribers: Free (Free annually) - 3k emails/month

101-1,000 subscribers: $19/month ($205/year annually) - 15k emails/month

1,001-5,000 subscribers: $29/month ($313/year annually) - 60k emails/month

5,001-10,000 subscribers: $49/month ($529/year annually) - 120k emails/month

10,001-25,000 subscribers: $99/month ($1069/year annually) - 300k emails/month

25,001-50,000 subscribers: $199/month ($2149/year annually) - 600k emails/month

50,001-100,000 subscribers: $349/month ($3769/year annually) - 1.2M emails/month

100,000+ subscribers: Custom pricing (Custom annually) - Unlimited emails/month

Yearly billing: All plans offer a 10% discount when billed annually.

12 Mandrill Alternatives for Transactional Email

TL;DR

12 Best Mandrill Alternatives

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Why Consider Alternatives to Mandrill

Feature Comparison

When to Use Each Platform

Should you switch from Mandrill?

If you don't use Mailchimp: Any alternative

If you want simpler pricing: SendGrid, Resend, or Postmark

If developer experience matters: Resend or Postmark

If you're running a SaaS: Sequenzy

The pricing comparison

When Mandrill is still the right choice

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Mandrill without Mailchimp?

What's the best Mandrill alternative for developers?

Is Mandrill still good in 2026?

What's the cheapest Mandrill alternative?

Does Postmark do marketing email?

SendGrid vs Mandrill: Which is better?

Can I migrate from Mandrill easily?

Is Resend ready for production?

Does Amazon SES have deliverability issues?

What about Mailgun?

Which transactional provider has the best support?

Do I need dedicated IPs for transactional email?

Is Brevo good for transactional?

What's Mailchimp's transactional pricing now?

Can Sequenzy replace Mandrill?

Ready to try Sequenzy?

Sequenzy vs Mandrill: Direct Comparison

More Alternatives

SendGrid Alternatives

Postmark Alternatives

Sequenzy - Complete Pricing Guide

Pricing Model

All Pricing Tiers

Free Plan Features (2,500 emails/month)

Paid Plan Features (1,000 - 100,000 subscribers)

Enterprise Plan Features (100,000+ subscribers)

Important Pricing Notes

Contact