Introduction

Transactional emails are automated emails that are required for businesses to facilitate payments or orders. Emails such as password resets, order confirmations, notifications, updates, and receipts are also transactional emails. These emails are sent through an SMTP server or API.

Finding a good transactional email service can help your business in great ways. A good transactional email service takes care of your emails and ensures that your emails get delivered to your inbox. With the correct service, your sender reputation would never be impacted and your emails will be well received. However, it’s hard to find a transactional email service that has all these features at an affordable price. One of the most popular transactional email services is Mandrill but let’s be honest, it’s not the most cost-effective option out there. The recent merge of Mandrill with Mailchimp has left many previous users looking for other affordable options.

What is Mandrill?

Mandrill is a transactional email add-on brought by Mailchimp. By using Mandrill, you can ensure the secure, scalable, and secure delivery of your transactional emails. It not only ensures that your emails are delivered as quickly as possible but also ensures that they are delivered to the client’s inbox rather than spam. Mandrill also provides analytics to update you on how your emails are performing.

Instead of creating transactional emails from scratch every time, you can use ready-to-use Mandrill templates. You can also design your templates. One of the brilliant features that Mandrill offers is its test mode. You can check emails for bounces and spam scores without having to send emails.

What is the main user complaint on Mandrill?

Despite providing excellent service, Mandrill still has some drawbacks. One of the major complaints that users have is needing a Mailchimp account to use Mandrill. Initially, Mandrill was a startup by Mailchimp but had an independent operation. Recently, Mandrill merged back with Mailchimp and as a result, users are required to have a Mailchimp account to use Mandrill.

When Mandrill was operating independently, users only had to pay for the Mandrill add-on but now, along with a mandrill account, you would have to pay for a Mailchimp account as well. Not only that, but the cheapest Mailchimp account costs 9.99 dollars and the price of a standard mandrill plan has increased from 9.95 dollars to 20 dollars. Due to this, though Mandrill has many benefits, it is not the most economical option out there.

That is why we have listed down 7 Mandrill alternatives and competitors that you need to check out.

7 alternatives of Mandrill with Pros & Cons

1. SendGrid

If you are looking for an affordable service to send your transactional emails, Sendgrid is a perfect choice for you. Not only is it super budget-friendly but you can also use it for your marketing emails. It has efficient deliverability and other advanced features.

On SendGrid, you have the choice to integrate with API or connect with SMTP. Integrating with API is super straightforward on SendGrid. Also, if you are looking to test it out, you can have a free trial.

Pros

• Clean API
• Efficient deliverability that ensures emails reach the client’s inbox
• Easy to configure built-in tracking
• User-friendly interface
• Trial period

Cons

• Poor customer service
• Limited functionality based on the plan you choose
• Occasional formatting issues
• API key setting

Pricing

Free

• 100 emails/day
• 0 USD

Basic

• Starts at 15 USD per month
• 15,000 emails to 5000 contacts

Advanced

• Starts at 60 USD per month
• 50,000 emails to 10,000 contacts

2. Mailgun

Mailgun has similar features to SendGrid but has more economical plans. The system works in a way that all emails land directly in the target’s inbox. Mailgun also has features that will allow you to keep track of the emails you have sent. With a clean dashboard, you can quickly navigate through the site to find what you’re looking for.

With Mailgun, integration with websites and most WordPress plugins is fairly easy. The user interface makes it easy to set up the service without nuisance.

Pros

• Good customer service
• Dedicated IP
• Easy to set up
• User-friendly interface
• Clean Dashboard

Cons

• Influence of other users on your reputation when using shared IP
• Certain themes and plugins may not integrate well

Pricing

Flex

• 5000 free emails per month for three months
• After 3 months, you will have to pay as per your use

Foundation

• 35 USD per month
• 50,000 emails

Growth

• 80 USD per month
• 100,000 emails

Scale

• 90 USD per month
• 100,000 emails

3. Amazon SES

Amazon SES is a simple, economical, and scalable email service. With SES, you can send transactional emails with a shared IP, a dedicated IP, or with your IP address. Building a large-scale email solution is easier than ever. Based on tests, when it comes to reducing bounce rate, you can trust Amazon SES more than any other service.

With a feature like a reputation dashboard, you can track bounce and feedback loops and prevent problems that can impact your reputation as a sender. You can also keep track of the issues that can impact the delivery of your emails by using the deliverability dashboard.

Pros

• You can pay as you use
• Well documented API
• Simple setup and integration
• Economical

Cons

• No email list storage
• In case of a bounced email, hard to determine which email is bounced

Pricing

Receiving

• You will be charged 0.10$ for 1000 emails you receive
• With SES free tier, you can receive 1000 emails per month for free

Sending

• You will be charged 0.10$ for 1000 emails you send
• Per the GB attachment you send, you will be charged $0.12

4. LeaderSend

LeaderSend is a cloud-based transactional email sending service that is designed in a way that you would have a smooth transactional email sending experience. With the Robust infrastructure of LeaderSend, your emails reach directly to the inbox. This infrastructure also provides updates on Feedback loops and monitors your sender reputation.

With the powerful API, integration is easier than ever. LeaderSend gives you complete control over your emails. You can design your templates and can import code through API. Moreover, with merge tags, you can personalize your emails.

Pros

• Powerful API
• Best customer support
• Robust infrastructure
• Real-time tracking

Cons

• No A/B testing
• A limited emails per hour

Pricing

Bronze

• 50,000 credits in $10
• 100,000 credits in $19

Silver

• 50,000 credits in $20
• 100,000 credits in $80
• 500,000 credits in $180
• 1 million credits in $340

Gold

• 50,000 credits in $360
• 1 Million credits in $680
• 2 Million credits in $1200
• 5 Million credits in $2000

5. SparkPost

Sparkpost is one of the leading email delivery services that allows you to send transactional emails quickly while also making sure they get delivered to the inbox. Companies like Pinterest, Twitter, and Adobe also use SparkPost for their emails. SparkPost has high inbox placement rates.

On SparkPost, you will get real-time insights and analytics of your email performance. It will allow you to have updates on any issues occurring in your emails or problems that may impact your reputation.

Pros

• Deliverability
• Dedicated IP address
• Smooth integration
• Flexibility

Cons

• A low number of send limits on free plan as compared to other services
• No deliverability testing

Pricing

Starter plan

• $30 per month for 100k emails
• Up to 25,000 emails every day

Premier

• $75 for 100k emails

6. Sendinblue

With Sendinblue, you can send your transactional emails to clients in real-time. Sendinblue promises robust deliverability, which means that the service will make sure your emails get delivered to the inbox. Customizable email templates will ensure that you can maintain your brand.

With the kind of flexibility Sendinblue offers, you can choose the setup options based on your needs. Sendinblue also has transactional email plugins that will allow you to integrate it smoothly with your CMS.

Pros

• Web supporting service
• Great customer support
• Easy customization
• Flexibility
• Affordable

Cons

• Takes time to scan deliverability of lists
• Difficult to set up for beginners

Pricing

Free

• 300 emails per day

Lite

• $25 for 10,000 emails

Premium

• $65 for 20,000 emails

7. Sendpulse

Marketers and developers can use Sendpulse to send transactional emails by using SMTP or API. The service provides detailed reports to improve the performance of your emails. You can also use a dedicated IP address on Sendpulse to ensure your sender reputation is not affected.

With a custom tracking domain, you can ensure that the header and footer of your emails do not contain the name of Sendpulse.

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Scheduling
• Cost-effective
• Set up is super easy

Cons

• Takes time to approve emails
• Less pre-designed templates
• Limited fonts

Pricing

Basic

• 12000 emails per month
• $0

Pro

• 100,000 emails per month
• $74.5 per month

Enterprise

• 500,000 emails per month
• $274.85 per month

Pay as you go

• $15 per 10,000 emails