Mandrill
performance benchmarks
Browse Mandrill'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) |
|---|---|---|---|
1M–10M | 9th of 10 → | 0 | 0 |
From January 1st to March 31st, Knock routed 1M–10M messages through Mandrill. For adoption, Mandrill ranks 9th of 10 providers based on new channel connections, with adoption holding steady over the period. Mandrill reported no status page incidents over the last 90 days.
Response time
Response time measures how long Mandrill 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
134ms | 393ms | 543ms | 872ms |
From January 1st to March 31st, Mandrill averaged a daily median response time (p50) of 134ms across all days in the range, meaning half of all requests on a typical day complete in under 134ms. The 99th percentile averaged 872ms, with a peak daily p99 of 4876ms. This is slightly higher than some providers, which may reflect additional processing Mandrill 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% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0.01% | 0.22% | Feb 2 | 87 | 2 |
From January 1st to March 31st, Mandrill averaged a 0.01% daily error rate for 5xx responses and timeouts, with the highest single-day error rate reaching 0.22%. 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 Mandrill during the specified period. Response time measures time from Knock to provider acceptance. Error rate includes only provider 5xx responses and timeouts.
Recent Mandrill incidents
Recent status page incidents for Mandrill
No incidents reported in the last 90 days
Compare Mandrill with other providers
About Mandrill
Mandrill is a transactional email add-on for Mailchimp, suited for teams already using the Mailchimp platform.
Pros
- Friendly, well-laid-out developer documentation that makes integration straightforward
- Global infrastructure for fast delivery with dedicated IPs and IP address pools
- Solid analytics with reports on deliverability, opens, clicks, bounces, and rejections
- Reuse Mailchimp templates for transactional email with deep ecosystem integration
Cons
- Requires an existing Mailchimp Standard or Premium subscription
- Not available as a standalone service
- Higher cost than some dedicated transactional services
Frequently asked questions
What is Mandrill?
Mandrill is an email service provider commonly used for transactional email for mailchimp users, e-commerce receipts and confirmations, personalized one-to-one messages. Mandrill is a transactional email add-on for Mailchimp, suited for teams already using the Mailchimp platform.
How much does Mandrill cost?
Included as an add-on to Mailchimp Standard or Premium plans. Pricing is based on email blocks of 25,000 emails, starting at $20/block. Volume discounts apply: $18/block above 500K, scaling down to $10/block above 4M. Mandrill does not offer a permanent free tier.
How fast is Mandrill?
Based on real-world data from messages sent through Knock, Mandrill accepts API requests with a median response time of 134ms (p50) and 872ms at the 99th percentile.
How reliable is Mandrill?
From January 1st to March 31st, Mandrill showed an error rate of 0.01% for 5xx responses and timeouts across 1M–10M 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 Mandrill?
Key strengths include friendly, well-laid-out developer documentation that makes integration straightforward and global infrastructure for fast delivery with dedicated ips and ip address pools. On the other hand, requires an existing mailchimp standard or premium subscription and not available as a standalone service.
Does Mandrill work with Knock?
Yes. Knock has a native Mandrill integration that enables you to send email notifications through Mandrill as part of a cross-channel workflow. You can combine Mandrill with other channels like in-app feeds, push, SMS, and Slack from a single API call.
Use Mandrill with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate Mandrill alongside other notification channels, manage templates, and orchestrate cross-channel workflows from a single platform.