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By the numbers

Bird

Who controls the sending stack?

Mailgun: IPs, routing and validation

Mailgun manages dedicated IP pools and automatic IP warm-up. Its Automatic Sender Security rotates DKIM keys through delegated DNS records.

Mailgun’s bulk validation processes uploaded address lists, and its Routes apply filters and actions to incoming email. Keep Mailgun when list cleaning or declarative inbound rules are central to your integration.

Mailgun Optimize provides inbox-placement testing and reputation monitoring. Mailgun also offers Deliverability Services from its email experts for high-volume senders.

Bird: infrastructure and reputation

How do Bird and Mailgun compare?

Mailgun’s bulk validation and inbound rules suit list-cleaning and routing workflows. Bird combines its sending network, delivery tools and mailboxes with other channels in one API. Compare the controls and storage your application needs.

CapabilityBirdMailgunWho wins?
Transactional send APIBird’s TypeScript SDK throws typed errors by default; .safe() returns data and error.Mailgun’s JavaScript SDK takes a FormData constructor and sends with messages.create(domain, data). The Messages API accepts multipart form data.
SMTP relayBird SMTP accepts port 465 with TLS or 587 and 2525 with STARTTLS, using an API key.Mailgun SMTP supports TLS on port 465 and STARTTLS on 25, 587 and 2525, with credentials managed per domain.
Email address validationBird email lookup checks one address per call, returning a verdict, confidence, address flags and suggested corrections.Mailgun Validate supports real-time single-address checks and bulk validation of uploaded lists.
Idempotency on sendBird retains completed responses for 3 hours; later retries are fresh requests.Mailgun’s o:inbox-placement-test-key deduplicates inbox-placement tests. That scope is different from deduplicating the email send itself.
Stored message retentionBird stores message bodies for up to 30 days when content storage is enabled.Mailgun’s published plans list 1 day of message retention on Foundation and up to 7 days on Scale. Log retention is a separate allowance.
Published pricingBird email plans and rates are read live in the table below.Compare the selected plan with Mailgun’s published rates, including its billing period and features.
Dedicated IPs and poolsBird dedicated IPs and pools include automatic warm-up with overflow through the shared pool.Mailgun IP pools group dedicated addresses by sending stream; automatic warm-up caps sending by stage and routes overflow through shared or other dedicated IPs on the domain.
Deliverability heritageBird acquired SparkPost in 2021. Its sending network carries about 40% of the world’s commercial email.Mailgun’s sending infrastructure is hosted in the US and EU, with a choice of region from one account.
SPF, DKIM, DMARC and BIMIBird verifies DKIM, return-path and DMARC. BIMI is a separate DNS and logo configuration.Mailgun Automatic Sender Security rotates DKIM keys automatically. Its sending plans list SPF, DKIM, DMARC and BIMI support.
Event webhooks and signingBird signs webhook deliveries using Standard Webhooks.Mailgun webhook verification uses HMAC-SHA256 over timestamp and token with the Webhook Signing Key.
Channels beyond emailBird’s API covers email, SMS, WhatsApp, voice, Verify and Realtime.Mailgun provides an email API; Sinch also publishes SMS and voice APIs.
Vendor and procurementReview Bird’s published legal terms and policies against your existing agreement and procurement requirements.Review Mailgun’s published terms against your existing agreement and procurement requirements.
MailboxesBird’s agent mailboxes provide addressable inboxes, threads, replies and sender rules managed through code.Mailgun Routes combine filters with forward, store and stop actions; recipient and header filters support regular expressions.
Agent toolingBird’s hosted MCP server at mcp.bird.com exposes 354 tools. The bird CLI sends and inspects email, manages domains, templates and webhooks, and gives agents JSON output and semantic exit codes.Mailgun’s local MCP server sends email, retrieves stored messages and manages domains, routes, templates and deliverability operations. Its command-line options select tool groups; Mailgun publishes no hosted version of that server.

How do you send one HTML email?

Mailgun’s JavaScript client sends through messages.create with the sending domain as an argument. Bird throws typed errors by default; this example opts into .safe() so the application can branch on data and error.

Mailgun

send.ts
import Mailgun from "mailgun.js";
import formData from "form-data";

const mg = new Mailgun(formData).client({
  username: "api",
  key: process.env.MAILGUN_API_KEY!,
});

await mg.messages.create("yourdomain.com", {
  from:    "onboarding@yourdomain.com",
  to:      ["customer@example.com"],
  subject: "Your March invoice",
  html:    "<p>Attached.</p>",
});

Bird

send.ts
import { BirdClient } from "@messagebird/sdk";

const bird = new BirdClient({ apiKey: process.env.BIRD_API_KEY! });

const { data, error } = await bird.email
  .send({
    from:    { email: "onboarding@yourdomain.com", name: "Acme" },
    to:      ["customer@example.com"],
    subject: "Your March invoice",
    html:    "<p>Attached.</p>",
  })
  .safe();

if (error) console.error(error.message);
else console.log(data.id);

What changes around the send call?

How do Mailgun Routes map to Bird mailboxes?
Mailgun Routes evaluate incoming messages against rules, with forwarding and storage actions. Bird’s mailboxes expose inboxes, threads, replies and sender rules. Map every route filter and action to your receiving handler or mailbox workflow before changing MX records.
How should I prevent duplicate sends during migration?
Keep a record of each business operation and its send outcome. The Mailgun Messages API describes its inbox-placement test key precisely: “Retried or duplicate send requests that use the same key will not create additional tests.” Keep test deduplication separate from send retries. Bird’s 3-hour idempotency window protects retries within that window; check your send record before retrying after it expires.

Published email plans

Bird’s full monthly ladder is shown below. Nearest-volume plans are labelled and are not quotes for Bird’s volume. Check billing terms, features and overages.

Pricing verdict: Bird. The verdict compares the lowest published monthly amount at each exact volume and currency; daily-only allowances, annual commitments, usage rates, starting prices and custom quotes are not compared.

Bird monthly volume ladder and published provider plans
Bird tierEmails per monthBirdMailgun
Free1,000

$0 / month (USD)

€0 / month (EUR)

Nearest published volume

Basic: Starting at $15/mo

10,000 emails

Monthly billing; starting price.

as published

Startup50,000

$15 / month (USD)

€15 / month (EUR)

Matching volume

Foundation: $35/mo

50,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Startup100,000

$30 / month (USD)

€27.5 / month (EUR)

2 plans at this volume

Expand to compare every option and its billing terms.

Matching volume

Foundation: $75/mo

100,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Matching volume

Scale: $90/mo

100,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Growth100,000

$80 / month (USD)

€72.5 / month (EUR)

2 plans at this volume

Expand to compare every option and its billing terms.

Matching volume

Foundation: $75/mo

100,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Matching volume

Scale: $90/mo

100,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Growth250,000

$175 / month (USD)

€160 / month (EUR)

Matching volume

Scale: $215/mo

250,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Growth500,000

$295 / month (USD)

€270 / month (EUR)

Matching volume

Scale: $400/mo

500,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Growth1,000,000

$530 / month (USD)

€480 / month (EUR)

Matching volume

Scale: $700/mo

1,000,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Growth2,500,000

$1,039 / month (USD)

€950 / month (EUR)

Matching volume

Scale: $1,250/mo

2,500,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Mailgun: Published plans

Free: $0/mo

Daily allowance: 100 emails a day.

as published

Basic: Starting at $15/mo

10,000 emails

Monthly billing; starting price.

as published

Foundation: $35/mo

50,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Foundation: $75/mo

100,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Scale: $90/mo

100,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Scale: $215/mo

250,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Scale: $400/mo

500,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Scale: $700/mo

1,000,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Scale: $1,250/mo

2,500,000 emails

Monthly billing after the free trial.

as published

Enterprise services: Request a quote

Custom features and pricing.

as published

How should you compare email costs?

What do the Bird and Mailgun price rows include?
The table shows Bird’s full monthly ladder. Rival plans match the volume or are labelled with the nearest published volume. Bird’s amounts come from its live catalogue; Mailgun’s linked amounts carry their check dates. Compare the billing period and included features before choosing a plan. Use Mailgun’s pricing page to check the features and add-ons for the selected plan.

Switching cost

What does a Mailgun migration involve?

Map Mailgun’s form parameters and recipient variables to Bird’s JSON fields and batch entries. Publish Bird’s domain-authentication records and import each domain’s bounces, complaints and unsubscribes into Bird’s workspace suppressions using the migration guide.

Rewrite Mailgun webhook verification for Standard Webhooks. Split Mailgun’s failed event by severity into Bird’s deferred or bounced handling. Test in Bird’s mail sandbox before switching traffic and plan a warm-up for new dedicated IPs.

Talk to our email team

See how Bird fits your Mailgun workflow.

Test your sender, templates and delivery events before moving traffic from Mailgun. For a larger move, plan the cutover with an email specialist.

Create your account and test your integration. Your migration enquiry will include the provider you are comparing.

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