Mailgun
performance benchmarks
Browse Mailgun's observed email API response time, error rates, and incident history over the last 90 days.
Live performance metrics
Real-world performance data from messages sent through Knock
| Message volume | Growth | Status page updates (30d) | Status page updates (90d) |
|---|---|---|---|
100M–500M | 5th of 10 → | 4 | 13 |
From May 24th to August 22nd, Knock routed 100M–500M messages through Mailgun. For adoption, Mailgun ranks 5th of 10 providers based on new channel connections, with adoption holding steady over the period. Mailgun reported 13 status page updates over the last 90 days, 4 of which were in the last 30 days.
Response time
Response time measures how long Mailgun takes to accept an API request from Knock, including connection overhead and any automatic retries. Lower values mean faster message hand-off.
| Median (p50) | p90 | p95 | p99 |
|---|---|---|---|
138ms | 197ms | 253ms | 582ms |
From May 24th to August 22nd, Mailgun averaged a daily median response time (p50) of 138ms across all days in the range, meaning half of all requests on a typical day complete in under 138ms. The 99th percentile averaged 582ms, with a peak daily p99 of 15385ms. This is slightly higher than some providers, which may reflect additional processing Mailgun performs on message acceptance.
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.
| Avg. daily error rate | Highest daily rate | Peak error date | Zero-error days | Days above 0.01% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0.00% | 0.04% | Jun 23 | 89 | 2 |
From May 24th to August 22nd, Mailgun averaged a 0.00% daily error rate for 5xx responses and timeouts, with the highest single-day error rate reaching 0.04%. This is one of the lowest error rates among providers on Knock, indicating strong reliability and consistent uptime. Knock automatically retries failed requests, so transient provider errors rarely affect end-user delivery.
About these metrics: Data represents messages sent through Knock to Mailgun 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 Aug 20, 2026 — Resolved Aug 20, 2026
Aug 20, 10:31 PDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Aug 20, 10:09 PDT Update - GCP has put a mitigation in place, we are monitoring the results. At this time we are experiencing no impacts. All delayed webhooks and logs have been processed. Aug 20, 09:30 PDT Update - Outbound delivery is operating normally. Currently there are delays for event logs and some webhooks. Aug 20, 09:19 PDT Monitoring - Mailgun is monitoring service impacts in GCP's us-west1 region. We are routing
Started Aug 17, 2026 — Resolved Aug 17, 2026
Aug 17, 13:18 PDT Resolved - We have received confirmation that an external issue impacting email delivery to Microsoft 365 domains has been resolved. Impacted messages would have received an error stating "5.7.511 Access denied, banned sender" between Friday, August 14th and Monday, August 17th. Any failed messages will need to be resent. Information on retrying messages can be found in our Help Center here: https://help.mailgun.com/hc/en-us/articles/18596982041883-Resending-messages
Started Aug 11, 2026 — Resolved Aug 11, 2026
Aug 11, 00:07 PDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Aug 10, 23:54 PDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Aug 10, 22:32 PDT Identified - The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented. Aug 10, 22:32 PDT Investigating - We are currently experiencing a denial of service attack against our click and open tracking servers in our US regions. Remediation work is underway. Some requests may time out or fail at this time.
Started Jul 24, 2026 — Resolved Jul 24, 2026
Jul 24, 06:49 PDT Resolved - All delayed messages have been processed. Systems are operating normally Jul 24, 06:18 PDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Delayed messages are being processed. Jul 24, 06:16 PDT Update - We are continuing to work on a fix for this issue. Jul 24, 05:38 PDT Identified - The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented. Jul 24, 05:27 PDT Investigating - Inbound messages processed by routes are currentl
Started Jul 13, 2026 — Resolved Jul 13, 2026
Jul 13, 12:56 PDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Jul 13, 12:45 PDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Jul 13, 12:24 PDT Identified - The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented. Jul 13, 11:51 PDT Update - We are continuing to investigate this issue. Jul 13, 11:23 PDT Investigating - We are currently investigating this issue.
Compare Mailgun with other providers
About Mailgun
Mailgun is a developer-focused email API platform owned by Sinch, known for flexible sending and receiving capabilities.
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
Frequently asked questions
What is Mailgun?
Mailgun is an email service provider commonly used for transactional email, application-generated email, inbound email processing. Mailgun is a developer-focused email API platform owned by Sinch, known for flexible sending and receiving capabilities.
How much does Mailgun cost?
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. Mailgun offers a free tier with up to 3,000 emails, with a hard sending limit on that plan.
How fast is Mailgun?
Based on real-world data from messages sent through Knock, Mailgun accepts API requests with a median response time of 138ms (p50) and 582ms at the 99th percentile.
How reliable is Mailgun?
From May 24th to August 22nd, Mailgun showed an error rate of 0.00% for 5xx responses and timeouts across 100M–500M messages sent through Knock. Knock automatically retries failed requests, so transient provider errors rarely affect end-user delivery.
What are the pros and cons of Mailgun?
Key strengths include well-written documentation with comprehensive guides and best practices for deliverability and robust deliverability support with optional expert pairing to optimize sending. On the other hand, requires familiarity with email protocols and api integrations and pricing tiers can be confusing.
Does Mailgun work with Knock?
Yes. Knock has a native Mailgun integration that enables you to send email notifications through Mailgun as part of a cross-channel workflow. You can combine Mailgun with other channels like in-app feeds, push, SMS, and Slack from a single API call.
Use Mailgun with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate Mailgun alongside other notification channels, manage templates, and orchestrate cross-channel workflows from a single platform.