Private and open-source alternatives to Mailgun
5 email sending services rated against the same public privacy criteria as Mailgun, with our picks first.
Why look for an alternative?
- Open source: no. Closed source.
- No trackers or telemetry: no. The privacy policy lists Google Analytics and Optimizely on the website.
- Independent audit: partial. SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified, but the audit reports are not public.
- Security headers: partial. Grade B (75/100+)
- Message content deleted after delivery: partial. Messages are kept for up to 3 days by default, depending on the plan, and retention can be set to 0 days for each domain.
The alternatives
Forward Email Grade B
Email service whose paid plans include outbound SMTP and an email API for sending from apps and websites with a custom domain. Message bodies are purged after delivery by default.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Forward Email scores 85 out of 100 (grade B) on the email sending services criteria. It meets 9 of 12 criteria: open source, no ads or data sales, independent audit, tells users about requests, TLS configuration, security headers, message content deleted after delivery, open and click tracking off by default and encrypted delivery can be enforced.
Resend Grade D
Email API for developers with SMTP support, React Email templates, broadcasts and webhooks.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Resend scores 46 out of 100 (grade D) on the email sending services criteria. It meets 4 of 12 criteria: no ads or data sales, TLS configuration, open and click tracking off by default and encrypted delivery can be enforced.
Brevo Grade F
Marketing and transactional email platform, formerly Sendinblue, with an SMTP relay, email API, SMS and a CRM. Data is hosted in the EU.
Based in France (Nine Eyes). Brevo scores 29 out of 100 (grade F) on the email sending services criteria. It meets 2 of 12 criteria: TLS configuration and EU data location.
MailerSend Grade F
Transactional email API and SMTP relay from the makers of MailerLite, with templates, inbound routing and SMS.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). MailerSend scores 27 out of 100 (grade F) on the email sending services criteria. It meets 2 of 12 criteria: TLS configuration and EU data location.
Postmark Grade F
Email API and SMTP service from ActiveCampaign for transactional and broadcast email, with separate message streams and 45 days of message history by default.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Postmark scores 27 out of 100 (grade F) on the email sending services criteria. It meets 2 of 12 criteria: TLS configuration and open and click tracking off by default.