Klaviyo vs Mailgun: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Klaviyo and Mailgun to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Klaviyo
6.9/10
Klaviyo is an email, SMS and customer data platform for ecommerce brands, priced by active profiles and built around store data and automated flows.
Mailgun
6.8/10
Mailgun is a developer-focused email API and SMTP relay service that apps and businesses use to send, receive, track and validate transactional and bulk email.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.9/10 | 6.8/10 |
| Scalability | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Cost | 4/10 | 6/10 |
| Integration | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Analytics | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $20/mo Email | $15/mo Basic |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Free | $15/mo Basic |
| Features | ||
| Email Marketing | ||
| E-commerce Features | Not listed | |
| Landing Pages | Not listed | |
| Segmentation | Not listed | |
| SMS Marketing | Not listed | |
Klaviyo vs Mailgun cost by team size
Klaviyo and Mailgun cost the same at 1 user; Klaviyo costs less from 5 users.
| Team size | Klaviyo | Mailgun |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree | FreeFree |
| 5 users | FreeFree | $15/moBasic |
| 10 users | FreeFree | $15/moBasic |
| 25 users | FreeFree | $15/moBasic |
| 50 users | FreeFree | $15/moBasic |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Klaviyo
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $15/mo
- Higher Analytics score (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (6/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for marketing teams (9/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for small business (7/10 vs 4/10)
Why choose Mailgun
- Higher Cost score (6/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Security score (8/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for startups (8/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
Klaviyo
Pros
- Deep native integration with Shopify and other stores lets marketers segment on real purchase and browsing data.
- A free plan with 250 profiles and a 20 USD entry plan make it cheap to start.
- Since July 2026, SMS uses dollar-based plans with over 70 tiers, so gaps between plans are smaller and larger plans get lower per-message rates.
- A broad product suite covering reviews, helpdesk, personalization and AI agents can replace several separate tools.
Cons
- Billing by active profiles and uneven tier steps cause cost jumps, for example from 150 USD at 10,000 profiles to 350 USD at 15,000 on the Email plan.
- Many features, such as Reviews, Helpdesk, Personalization and Composer, are separately priced add-ons that raise the total bill.
- Free accounts get email support only for the first 60 days, and reviewers on G2 and Trustpilot report slow or hard-to-reach support.
- New users report a learning curve with segments, event triggers and flow logic.
Mailgun
Pros
- Reviewers repeatedly praise the REST API and documentation as quick for developers to integrate.
- Deliverability and detailed per-domain searchable logs get strong marks from users.
- SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certification, with 2FA, SAML SSO and AES-256 encryption at rest.
- A low entry price and a free tier of 100 emails a day for testing.
Cons
- It is API-first and complicated for non-technical users, with a dated dashboard where settings and logs can be hard to find.
- Several 2025 reviews report automated account suspensions with little warning.
- Short log retention on lower plans (1 day on Free and Basic).
- Reviewers call it costlier than rivals once volume grows, and inbox placement tools are a separate product.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Klaviyo scores higher on our Marketing criteria: 6.9/10 against 6.8/10 for Mailgun. The largest gap is in Analytics: 9/10 for Klaviyo and 7/10 for Mailgun.
Klaviyo costs less for 10 users: free on its Free plan, against about $15/mo on its Basic plan for Mailgun, billed monthly.
Yes, both Klaviyo and Mailgun have a free plan.
Klaviyo is the better fit for marketing teams: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 4/10 for Mailgun.
