A European alternative to Mailgun
Mailgun is a US provider, subject to the CLOUD Act. Spore does the same job — DKIM-signed transactional email over an API — but hosted end to end in Europe. Here's an honest comparison.
Spore compared to Mailgun
| Feature | Spore | Mailgun |
|---|---|---|
| Data hosting | EU | |
| Outside the US CLOUD Act | ||
| GDPR-compliant DPA | ||
| Simple HTTP API | ||
| Automatic DKIM signing | ||
| Event webhooks | ||
| Generated typed SDK | ||
| Idempotency key | ||
| Email templates | ||
| Scheduled send | ||
| Inbound email |
Comparison to the best of our knowledge of Mailgun's offering; each product's features evolve. "EU" / "US" indicates hosting location, a dash means partial coverage.
What Spore changes versus Mailgun
The real differentiator isn't one more feature: it's jurisdiction. With Mailgun, your recipient data flows through a US entity, exposed to the CLOUD Act even with EU hosting. Spore aligns hosting, legal entity and support in Europe — GDPR is the default behaviour, not a checkbox.
Let's be honest: Mailgun is more mature on volume and marketing tooling. If your need is data sovereignty and a clean, simple developer integration, Spore is for you. If you want a full marketing email platform, Mailgun remains relevant.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Spore an alternative to Mailgun?
- Yes for transactional email over an API, with automatic DKIM, webhooks and a typed SDK — hosted in Europe. Mailgun offers an EU region but remains a US entity.
- Mailgun has an EU region, why Spore?
- EU hosting isn't enough if the provider is American: Mailgun (Sinch) remains subject to the CLOUD Act. Spore aligns hosting, legal entity and support in Europe.
- Is migrating from Mailgun simple?
- Yes: an HTTP call or the typed SDK, and your DKIM DNS records re-published for your domains.
- What does Mailgun do that Spore doesn't?
- Scheduled send and advanced email validation are Mailgun strengths; Spore favours simplicity and sovereignty.