Compare Mailgun against Mailjet API performance
Compare real-time performance, reliability, and uptime benchmarks for Mailgun and Mailjet, powered by proprietary data from billions of messages sent through Knock.
Live performance comparison
Real-world performance data from messages sent through Knock.
| Provider | Message volume | Growth | Status page updates (30d) | Status page updates (90d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 100M–500M | 5th of 10 → | 1 | 9 |
 | <1M | 6th of 10 → | 0 | 2 |
From August 13th to November 11th, Knock routed 100M–500M messages through Mailgun and <1M through Mailjet. Mailgun reported 9 status page updates over the last 90 days, while Mailjet reported 2.
Response time
Response time measures how long each provider takes to accept an API request from Knock, including connection overhead and any automatic retries. Lower values mean faster message hand-off.
The chart above shows each provider's daily median response time (p50) from August 13th to November 11th. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: Mailgun averaged 121ms compared to 406ms for Mailjet. Mailgun's highest daily p50 was 133ms; Mailjet's was 446ms. Mailgun is 285ms faster at the median, which can add up at high volumes.
The 90th percentile (p90) captures the slowest 10% of requests, revealing how each provider handles moderate stress. Averaged across all days, Mailgun has a p90 of 170ms compared to 594ms for Mailjet. The highest daily p90 was 197ms for Mailgun and 1020ms for Mailjet. Mailgun handles these slower requests 424ms faster, suggesting more consistent performance across the board.
The 99th percentile (p99) represents the long tail — the slowest 1% of requests. Averaged across all days, Mailgun reached 225ms at p99 while Mailjet reached 746ms. The highest daily p99 was 506ms for Mailgun and 2503ms for Mailjet, indicating the worst-case response time during spikes or provider-side congestion. Mailgun shows a tighter tail, which may matter for time-sensitive notifications like one-time passwords or real-time alerts where even rare delays can impact user experience.
Error rate
Error rate tracks the ratio of 5xx responses and timeouts to total requests. Knock automatically retries failed requests, so transient provider errors rarely affect end-user delivery.
| Provider | Avg. daily error rate | Highest daily rate | Peak error date | Zero-error days | Days above 0.01% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00% | 0.01% | Aug 27 | 90 | 0 |
| 0.00% | 0.00% | Aug 13 | 91 | 0 |
Averaged across the date range, Mailgun shows a 0.00% daily error rate compared to 0.00% for Mailjet. The highest single-day error rate was 0.01% for Mailgun and 0.00% for Mailjet. Both providers show similar reliability levels, with error rates well within acceptable thresholds. Knock automatically retries failed requests to both providers, minimizing the impact of transient errors on end-user delivery.
About these metrics: Data represents messages sent through Knock during the specified period. Response time measures time from Knock to provider acceptance. Error rate includes only provider 5xx responses and timeouts.
Recent Mailgun incidents
Recent status page incidents for Mailgun
Started Oct 28, 2026 — Resolved Oct 28, 2026
Oct 28, 02:40 PDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Oct 28, 02:27 PDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Oct 28, 01:54 PDT Identified - The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented. Oct 28, 01:36 PDT Investigating - We are currently investigating this issue.
Started Sep 30, 2026 — Resolved Sep 30, 2026
Sep 30, 02:58 PDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Sep 30, 02:48 PDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Sep 30, 02:38 PDT Identified - The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented. Sep 30, 02:16 PDT Investigating - We are currently investigating this issue.
Started Sep 14, 2026 — Resolved Sep 14, 2026
Sep 14, 03:13 PDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Sep 14, 02:55 PDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Sep 14, 02:15 PDT Investigating - We are currently investigating this issue.
Started Sep 4, 2026 — Resolved Sep 4, 2026
Sep 4, 07:33 PDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Sep 4, 07:21 PDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Sep 4, 07:16 PDT Investigating - We are currently investigating this issue.
Started Sep 4, 2026 — Resolved Sep 4, 2026
Sep 4, 05:54 PDT Resolved - Microsoft has resolved the underlying issue, we are seeing deliveries to M365 process normally. Sep 4, 05:22 PDT Update - We are continuing to monitor for any further issues. Sep 4, 05:20 PDT Monitoring - Starting around 08:00 UTC, Microsoft began experiencing an incident causing an increased volume of deferred emails across all M365 regions. The affected responses are returning "451 4.7.500 Server busy". Our teams are actively monitoring the situation. Send
Recent Mailjet incidents
Recent status page incidents for Mailjet
Started Sep 23, 2026 — Resolved Sep 23, 2026
Sep 23, 05:00 UTC Completed - The scheduled maintenance has been completed. Sep 23, 04:00 UTC In progress - Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary. Sep 15, 08:10 UTC Scheduled - We’ll be performing scheduled infrastructure maintenance on Wednesday, September 23, starting at 4:00 AM UTC. The estimated impact duration is 30 minutes. During this window, you won't be able to log in or send new messages via SMTP or API. Don't worry, any emails alr
Started Sep 4, 2026 — Resolved Sep 4, 2026
Sep 4, 12:55 UTC Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Sep 4, 12:23 UTC Monitoring - Starting around 08:00 UTC, Microsoft began experiencing an incident causing an increased volume of deferred emails across all M365 regions. The affected responses are returning "451 4.7.500 Server busy". Our teams are actively monitoring the situation. Sending to other email providers is not affected.
Pros and cons
Compare the strengths and tradeoffs between Mailgun and Mailjet.
Mailgun
Pros
- Well-written documentation with comprehensive guides and best practices for deliverability
- Robust deliverability support with optional expert pairing to optimize sending
- Powerful inbound email processing with customizable routing rules
- Trusted by Lyft, American Express, and Wikipedia since 2010
Cons
- Requires familiarity with email protocols and API integrations
- Pricing tiers can be confusing
- Email template features are basic without the Mailjet editor
Mailjet
Pros
- Hybrid support for both marketers and developers in a single platform
- Unique real-time collaboration features for team-based template editing
- EU-only data processing for companies with strict data residency requirements
- Powers email delivery for over 130,000 companies including Microsoft and DHL
Cons
- Activated automation workflows cannot be edited, requiring new workflows for any changes
- Some analytics and deliverability tools are locked behind higher pricing plans
- Deliverability can lag behind specialists like Postmark
Pricing comparison
Compare Mailgun and Mailjet as your email volume grows.
Frequently asked questions
Mailgun is a developer-focused email API platform owned by Sinch, known for flexible sending and receiving capabilities. Mailjet is a collaborative email platform with real-time editing and combined transactional and marketing capabilities. Mailgun is best suited for developer-focused sending + receiving, while Mailjet is geared toward team collaboration + marketing.
Free tier includes 100 emails per day with no expiration. Paid plans start at $15/month for 10,000 emails with overages at $1.80/1K. Free tier includes 200 emails per day (6,000/month). Paid plans start at $17/month for 15,000 emails with no daily limit. Premium plans start at $105/month for 100,000 emails. The best value depends on your sending volume. Use the pricing calculator above to compare costs at your expected volume.
Based on real-world data from Knock, Mailgun has a median API response time (p50) of 121ms compared to 406ms for Mailjet.
From August 13th to November 11th, Mailgun showed an error rate of 0.00% while Mailjet showed 0.00%. Both rates are within acceptable thresholds for production email delivery, and Knock automatically retries failed requests to minimize the impact of transient errors.
On the Knock platform, Mailgun handled 100M–500M messages from August 13th to November 11th compared to <1M for Mailjet. Mailgun volume has remained stable, while Mailjet volume has remained stable.
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple email providers into a single notification workflow. You can use Mailgun and Mailjet side by side, route traffic between them, or migrate from one to the other without changing your application code.
Mailgun strengths include well-written documentation with comprehensive guides and best practices for deliverability and robust deliverability support with optional expert pairing to optimize sending. Mailjet strengths include hybrid support for both marketers and developers in a single platform and unique real-time collaboration features for team-based template editing. On the other hand, Mailgun drawbacks include requires familiarity with email protocols and api integrations, while Mailjet drawbacks include activated automation workflows cannot be edited, requiring new workflows for any changes.