--- title: "Best MailerSend Alternatives in 2026: Cheaper APIs, Real Inboxes and Visual Builders" description: "The best MailerSend alternatives of 2026 compared: Reloop, Resend, Postmark, Brevo, Mailjet, Mailgun and Elastic Email on price at 50k and 100k emails, inbound, drag-and-drop editors, marketing and self-hosting." canonical: "https://reloop.sh/blog/best-mailersend-alternatives" last-updated: "2026-10-25" --- # Best MailerSend Alternatives in 2026: Cheaper APIs, Real Inboxes and Visual Builders > For the site documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Docs index: [llms-docs.txt](/llms-docs.txt). Marketing corpus: [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt). Docs corpus: [llms-full-docs.txt](/llms-full-docs.txt). Product skill: [skill.md](/skill.md). Prefer markdown URLs (append `.md`) when available. > The best MailerSend alternatives of 2026 compared: Reloop, Resend, Postmark, Brevo, Mailjet, Mailgun and Elastic Email on price at 50k and 100k emails, inbound, drag-and-drop editors, marketing and self-hosting. Source: https://reloop.sh/blog/best-mailersend-alternatives Published: 2026-10-25 **The short version:** if you're leaving MailerSend for price, **Reloop** is $10 for 50,000 emails where MailerSend Starter is $35, stores inbound mail in real inboxes instead of forwarding it, and is open source. **Resend** is the closest pure-API alternative. If you're leaving because you want *more* no-code marketing, look at **Brevo** or **Mailjet**. We build Reloop, so factor that in. Every competitor price below is from the provider's public pricing page, linked in each section, and each section says plainly where that provider beats us. --- ## Why teams look for a MailerSend alternative MailerSend is a solid developer-first API with a better no-code side than most: a drag-and-drop builder, SMS, email verification and split testing. Teams usually look elsewhere for one of these reasons: - **Price climbs with volume.** Starter is $35 for 50,000 and $68 for 100,000, with overage at $1.30 per 1,000. - **The free plan is small.** 500 emails a month, 1 domain, 1 template, 1 webhook and 100 API requests a day. - **Inbound is forwarding, not storage.** Incoming mail is parsed and forwarded to a webhook or address, and each forward counts against your monthly quota. - **Dedicated IPs need Professional.** The add-on is on the $110 plan. - **Marketing lives in a sister product.** Campaigns and automations are MailerLite's job, a separate account. - **Hosted only.** No source, no self-hosting. --- ## Top picks at a glance | Category | Pick | Why | |---|---|---| | **Best overall MailerSend alternative** | Reloop | $10 for 50k, inbound mailboxes, campaigns, open source | | **Best pure developer API** | Resend | Clean API, React Email, big ecosystem | | **Best for transactional deliverability** | Postmark | Long track record, message streams | | **Best all-in-one marketing suite** | Brevo | Email, SMS, WhatsApp, CRM and chat | | **Best visual editor** | Mailjet | Strong drag-and-drop editor, big free tier | | **Best for inbound routing rules** | Mailgun | Mature API, pattern-based routes | | **Best budget hosted option** | Elastic Email | 3,000 free a month, simple plans | | **Best open source / self-hosted** | Reloop | Apache 2.0, one-command install | --- ## The comparison table | | MailerSend | Reloop | Resend | Postmark | Brevo | Mailjet | Mailgun | Elastic Email | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | **Free tier** | 500 / mo | 6,000 / mo (200 / day) | 3,000 / mo (100 / day) | 100 / mo | 300 / day | 6,000 / mo (200 / day) | 100 / day, trial | 3,000 / mo (100 / day) | | **~50k / mo** | $35 (Starter) | **$10** | $20 | ~$87 (Basic + overage) | Slider | $40 / $59 | $35 | $19 / $49 | | **~100k / mo** | $68 (Starter) | **$20** | $35 | ~$177 (Basic + overage) | Slider | $112 (Premium) | $90 | Slider | | **Dedicated IP** | Professional add-on | Included on Growth ($20) | $30/mo add-on on Scale ($90+) | $50 / mo, 300k+ | Higher tiers | Premium, on request | Paid add-on | $40–$50 / mo add-on | | **Inbound** | Forward to webhook | Mailboxes + threads, API, MCP, IMAP | Webhook | Webhook (Pro and up) | Webhook | Parse API | Routes | Pro plan | | **Marketing** | Via MailerLite | Campaigns + automations | Broadcasts | Broadcast stream | Yes | Yes (automations on Premium) | Limited | Separate plans | | **Drag-and-drop editor** | Yes | No (HTML / code) | No (React Email) | Not compared | Yes | Yes | Not compared | Marketing product | | **Open source / self-host** | No | **Yes** | No | No | No | No | No | No | Sources: [mailersend.com/pricing](https://www.mailersend.com/pricing), [resend.com/pricing](https://resend.com/pricing), [postmarkapp.com/pricing](https://postmarkapp.com/pricing), [brevo.com/pricing](https://www.brevo.com/pricing/), [mailjet.com/pricing](https://www.mailjet.com/pricing/), [mailgun.com/pricing](https://www.mailgun.com/pricing/), [elasticemail.com/email-api-pricing](https://elasticemail.com/email-api-pricing), [reloop.sh/pricing](/pricing). "Slider" means the provider prices that volume interactively; check its page. Postmark's figures are Basic list price plus $1.80 per 1,000 overage. Mailgun's 100k figure is its Scale plan ($90 for 100,000). Elastic Email's 50k figures are Starter and Pro. --- ## 1. Reloop: best overall MailerSend alternative Reloop is open-source email infrastructure: a transactional API, SMTP relay, inbound mailboxes, contacts, campaigns, automations and webhooks in one product. Use it hosted (Reloop Cloud runs on Hetzner, a German hosting company, with EU data centers) or run the same code on your own server. **Pricing:** Free is 6,000 emails a month (200 a day). Pro is $10 for 50,000. Growth is $20 for 100,000 and includes a dedicated IP. Extra mail is $0.50 per 1,000. Self-hosting is free under Apache 2.0. **Strengths** - **$10 vs $35 at 50k, $20 vs $68 at 100k.** Over a year at 100k that's $576 saved against Starter. - **Twelve times the free tier**: 6,000 a month vs 500. - **Inbound is stored, not forwarded.** Mail lands in threaded mailboxes, spam-scored with Rspamd, readable over the API, the [MCP server](/docs/integrations/ai-tools/mcp-server) or IMAP, and replies stay in-thread. Hosted plans include 3, 5 or 10 inboxes on Free, Pro and Growth. - **Marketing in the same product.** Contacts, groups, subscription channels, campaigns and event-triggered automations share one API key and one suppression list. No second account. - A dedicated IP at $20 instead of a Professional add-on. **Weaknesses** - No drag-and-drop email builder. Templates are HTML or code (React Email works), with `{{{variable}}}` placeholders. - No SMS, built-in email verification or split testing. - Younger product, smaller community. **Best for:** developer teams that want lower prices, real inboxes and campaigns without a second tool. Full comparison: [Reloop vs MailerSend](/blog/reloop-vs-mailersend). --- ## 2. Resend: best pure developer API Resend set the standard for a modern email API, and React Email made JSX templates mainstream. **Pricing:** Free is 3,000 a month (100 a day). Pro is $20 for 50,000 and $35 for 100,000. Overage is $0.90 per 1,000. **Strengths:** excellent docs, first-class React Email, a large ecosystem, and broadcasts for simple marketing sends. **Weaknesses:** a dedicated IP needs the $90 Scale plan plus a $30/mo add-on. No drag-and-drop builder. Inbound is a webhook per message. Hosted only. **Best for:** small developer teams under 50k emails a month who want the most polished hosted API. Full comparison: [Reloop vs Resend](/blog/reloop-vs-resend). --- ## 3. Postmark: best for transactional deliverability Postmark has been transactional-first for over a decade, and its **message streams** keep bulk mail from affecting transactional reputation. **Pricing:** a free developer plan with 100 emails a month. Basic is $15 for 10,000, with overage at $1.80 per 1,000 ($1.30 on Pro, $1.20 on Platform). Inbound needs Pro. Dedicated IPs are $50 a month per IP above 300,000 emails a month. **Strengths:** the longest transactional-only track record, widely praised support, mature docs. **Weaknesses:** at 50k, Basic with overage is about $87 vs MailerSend Starter's $35. No contact database or automation builder. Hosted only. **Best for:** low-volume senders where a late password reset costs real money. Full comparison: [Reloop vs Postmark](/blog/reloop-vs-postmark). --- ## 4. Brevo: best all-in-one marketing suite Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is a marketing platform with a transactional API attached: email, SMS, WhatsApp, CRM and live chat in one product. **Pricing:** free for 300 emails a day. Starter begins at $9 for 5,000 emails; Standard, which adds automations, starts at $18. Larger volumes are priced on a slider. **Strengths:** marketers can run everything without developers, and SMS and WhatsApp sit next to email. If you'd otherwise pair MailerSend with MailerLite, Brevo covers both. **Weaknesses:** inbound is parsed to a webhook. Dedicated IPs are on higher tiers. Hosted only. **Best for:** marketing-led teams that want one suite for every channel. Full comparison: [Reloop vs Brevo](/blog/reloop-vs-brevo). --- ## 5. Mailjet: best visual editor Mailjet, owned by Sinch, pairs a transactional API with one of the better drag-and-drop editors, and stores data in the EU. **Pricing:** free for 6,000 emails a month (200 a day). At 50,000 it's $40 on Essential or $59 on Premium; 100,000 on Premium is $112. Automations need Premium. **Strengths:** tied with Reloop for the largest free tier here, a strong visual editor, transactional and marketing in one account. **Weaknesses:** gets expensive at 100k. Dedicated IPs are on request at higher volumes. Inbound is the Parse API, posting each message to your webhook. Hosted only. **Best for:** teams that want MailerSend's builder-friendly approach with a bigger free tier. Full comparison: [Reloop vs Mailjet](/blog/reloop-vs-mailjet). --- ## 6. Mailgun: best for inbound routing rules Mailgun is one of the original developer email APIs, with **inbound routes** that match incoming mail by pattern and forward it, plus email validation. **Pricing:** a trial at 100 emails a day. Basic is $15 for 10,000; Foundation is $35 for 50,000. Overage starts at $1.30 per 1,000 ($1.80 on Basic). Dedicated IPs are a paid add-on. **Strengths:** long track record, flexible routing, Handlebars templates. **Weaknesses:** about $100 at 100k with overage. Marketing is a separate Sinch product. Hosted only. **Best for:** teams that route a lot of inbound mail by rule. Full comparison: [Reloop vs Mailgun](/blog/reloop-vs-mailgun). --- ## 7. Elastic Email: best budget hosted option Elastic Email sells an Email API and a separate Email Marketing product, both with simple plans. **Pricing:** the Email API's free tier is 3,000 a month (100 a day). At 50,000 it's $19 on Starter or $49 on Pro. Higher volumes use a slider. A dedicated IP is a $40 add-on on Starter and $50 on Pro. **Strengths:** cheaper than MailerSend Starter at 50k, and its separate Email Marketing product has a drag-and-drop designer. **Weaknesses:** inbound and webhooks are Pro only. Logs are kept 3 days on Free and Starter, 7 on Pro. Marketing is a separate plan. Hosted only. **Best for:** budget-conscious senders who want a hosted dashboard and don't need inbound. Full comparison: [Reloop vs Elastic Email](/blog/reloop-vs-elastic-email). --- ## How to choose - **"MailerSend costs too much at our volume."** Reloop ($10 / $20) or Elastic Email ($19 at 50k). - **"We need to store and reply to inbound mail."** Reloop, which keeps it in threaded mailboxes on every plan. - **"Marketers build our emails visually."** Mailjet or Brevo. - **"We want transactional and marketing in one account."** Reloop for developers, Brevo or Mailjet for marketers. - **"We need SMS too."** Brevo. - **"Legal wants source code or self-hosting."** Reloop is the only open-source option here. --- ## Switching from MailerSend 1. **Add your domain** in the new provider and publish its DKIM record. Merge the new SPF include into your existing record; don't add a second SPF record. 2. **Swap the client.** MailerSend's Node SDK uses a builder (`new EmailParams().setFrom(...)`); most alternatives take a plain object. 3. **Move templates.** The HTML moves as-is. On Reloop, change `{{variable}}` placeholders to `{{{variable}}}` and send by template ID. 4. **Export your suppression list** and import it. 5. **Point webhooks** at a new handler. MailerSend events are `activity.*`; Reloop's are `email.delivered`, `email.bounced` and so on, signed in the `Reloop-Signature` header. 6. **Move inbound routes.** On Reloop, create a mailbox for the address instead of a forward rule. 7. **Ramp traffic** from 10% to 100% over a week or two, then remove MailerSend's DNS records. See [Reloop vs MailerSend](/blog/reloop-vs-mailersend) for the details, and the [SendGrid migration guide](/blog/migrating-from-sendgrid) for a traffic-split flag you can reuse. --- ## FAQ Among full platforms, Reloop: $10 for 50,000 emails and $20 for 100,000, against $35 and $68 on MailerSend Starter. Elastic Email's Starter is $19 at 50,000. Yes. Reloop is open source under Apache 2.0. Use the hosted version or run it on your own server. Mailjet and Brevo both have strong visual editors, and Elastic Email's separate marketing product has a drag-and-drop designer. Reloop and Resend are code-first: HTML or React Email templates. Reloop stores inbound mail in threaded mailboxes you can read and reply to over the API, MCP or IMAP, which suits support inboxes and AI agents. MailerSend, Brevo, Mailjet and Resend forward each message to a webhook. Yes. The HTML moves over unchanged. Swap the placeholder syntax to your new provider's, for Reloop that's `{{{variable}}}`, and test each template with real data before switching traffic.