Strapi vs Mailgun
Leading open-source Node.js headless CMS — self-host or Cloud
vs. Email API for developers with deep deliverability tooling
Pricing tiers
Strapi
Self-Hosted (OSS)
MIT-licensed Node.js CMS. Run free on any infra. Full admin + plugin ecosystem.
$0 base (usage-based)
Cloud Free (trial)
14-day free trial of Strapi Cloud.
Free
Cloud Essential
$18/month ($15 annual). 500k API requests, 50 GB asset bandwidth, 50 GB storage. Transparent overages.
$18/mo
Cloud Pro
$90/month. Higher quotas, faster support.
$90/mo
Cloud Scale
$450/month. Enterprise-grade infra, priority support.
$450/mo
Enterprise Edition (self-host)
Self-host + Enterprise license. SSO/SAML, audit logs, review workflows, content releases.
Custom
Mailgun
Free
100 emails/day. 1 custom domain, 1-day log retention, 1 inbound route. No credit card.
Free
Basic
$15/month. 10,000 emails/month, no daily limit, 5 inbound routes.
$15/mo
Foundation
$35/month (1st month free). 50,000 emails/month, 1,000 custom domains, 5-day retention.
$35/mo
Scale
$90/month. 100,000 emails/month, SAML SSO, 5,000 email validations, dedicated IP pools, 30-day retention.
$90/mo
Enterprise
Custom. Deliverability services, managed onboarding.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing self-hosted on Strapi vs free on Mailgun.
| Metric | Strapi | Mailgun |
|---|---|---|
| No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers. | ||
Features
Strapi · 16 features
- Audit Logs (EE) — Track every admin action.
- Components — Reusable field groups shared across content types.
- Content Types Builder — Visual schema builder — fields, relations, components, dynamic zones.
- Custom Fields — Plugin-based custom field types (color picker, markdown, etc.).
- Draft & Publish — Two-phase publishing workflow.
- Dynamic Zones — Flexible page builder — authors pick components to add.
- GraphQL API (plugin) — Optional GraphQL layer via official plugin.
- Internationalization — Multi-locale content out of the box.
- Media Library — Upload + organize media. Providers: local, S3, Cloudinary, DO Spaces.
- Releases (EE) — Bundle content changes and publish atomically.
- REST API (auto-gen) — Auto-generated REST endpoints per content type. Full CRUD + filters.
- Review Workflows (EE) — Approval-based content workflows.
- Role-Based Access Control — Per-role permissions at content type + field level.
- SSO / SAML (EE) — Enterprise identity for admin users.
- Strapi Cloud — Fully-managed hosting of Strapi instances.
- Webhooks — Built-in webhooks on content lifecycle events.
Mailgun · 14 features
- Batch Sending — Send up to 1,000 recipients per API call via recipient variables.
- Dedicated IPs — IP pools with auto warmup. Scale+ tier.
- Deliverability Suite — Inbox placement testing, DMARC reporting, seed lists.
- Email Logs — Searchable log of all send attempts + events.
- Email Templates — Template builder + variables + versioning.
- Email Validation — Real-time email verification (syntax, MX, role accounts, disposable).
- EU Region — Data stored in EU for GDPR-sensitive customers.
- Inbound Routing — Route incoming emails to URLs/SMTP. Attachment forwarding.
- Mailing Lists — Unlimited mailing lists with bulk subscribe/unsubscribe.
- Open/Click Tracking — HTML + text tracking with configurable tracking domain.
- SAML SSO — Scale+ tier.
- Send API — REST/SMTP send with MIME + tracking.
- Tags — Tag messages to slice stats.
- Webhook Events — delivered, opened, clicked, unsubscribed, complained, permanent_fail, temporary_…
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Strapi | Mailgun |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | Strapi CLI | — |
| SDK | @strapi/client (JS) | mailgun.js (Node), mailgun-php, mailgun-python, mailgun-ruby |
| REST | Admin REST API, Strapi Content REST API | Mailgun REST API |
| GRAPHQL | GraphQL API (plugin) | — |
| OTHER | Webhooks | Inbound Routing, SMTP Relay, Webhooks |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Outbound links to Strapi and Mailgun are plain references to their official websites. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.
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