Scaleway Transactional Email vs Mailgun
Comparing pricing tiers, deliverability architectures, and feature support for transactional and marketing senders.
Editorial Verdict
Scaleway is the minimal sovereign utility: $0.29/1k pay-as-you-go (300 included), Paris residency, no plan fees until the $93.28/mo Scale tier. Mailgun is a full platform — inbound parsing, validation API, marketing streams — from $35/mo incl 50k. If you only need outbound transactional email and value EU jurisdiction, Scaleway is dramatically cheaper; if you need the surrounding tooling, Mailgun justifies its floor.
Cost Benchmark Across Typical Workloads
Starter SaaS 10,000 emails/mo (95% tx)
Scaleway Transactional Email $2.69/mo
vs
Mailgun $35.17/mo
Active Product 75,000 emails/mo (80% tx)
Scaleway Transactional Email $17.42/mo
vs
Mailgun $85.24/mo
Scale Broadcast 500,000 emails/mo (50% tx)
Scaleway Transactional Email $128.23/mo
vs
Mailgun $204.43/mo
Detailed Architectural Comparison
Scaleway Transactional Email
Visit Scaleway Transactional Email →Key Strengths
- $0.29/1k dropping to $0.23/1k on the Scale plan (100k incl, $93.28/mo)
- 300 included emails/mo with no daily cap published
- French datacenter residency under EU law
- Zero monthly minimum — pure usage billing
Trade-offs & Gotchas
- No inbound processing, template editor, or validation tools
- Dedicated IP gated behind the $93.28/mo Scale plan
Mailgun
Visit Mailgun →Key Strengths
- Inbound routing/parse webhooks and validation API
- Marketing-capable streams alongside transactional
- Mature tag analytics and log search
- Dedicated IP available ($34.95/mo)
Trade-offs & Gotchas
- $35/mo floor vs Scaleway’s $0 entry
- US-owned under Sinch — no EU sovereignty story
Feature Matrix Comparison
| Feature Capability | Scaleway Transactional Email | Mailgun |
|---|---|---|
| Webhooks Event Dispatch | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| React Email / Modern SDKs | ✓ Native Support | ✓ Native Support |
| Inbound Email Routing / Parsing | ✗ Not Supported | ✓ Supported |
| Visual Drag & Drop Template Builder | Code Templates | ✓ Included |
| Standard SMTP Relay | ✓ Supported | ✓ Supported |
| Sub-account / Multi-tenant Hierarchy | ✓ Supported | ✓ Supported |
| Activity & Search Retention | 30 Days | 30 Days |
| Dedicated IP Monthly Fee | N/A | $34.95/mo |
| EU Sovereign Data Residency (GDPR) | 🇪🇺 Yes (EU Datacenter) | US Cloud |
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