The strongest Mailgun for WordPress alternative for most sites is WP Mail SMTP, which connects to Mailgun and many other providers through a guided setup with built-in logging that the official plugin lacks. The best free option is FluentSMTP, while Post SMTP adds failure alerts and retries. We ranked these from our index of 55,000+ WordPress plugins.

Why people switch from Mailgun for WordPress

• The official Mailgun plugin locks you to one provider, so people wanting flexibility move to WP Mail SMTP or FluentSMTP, which support many services.
• Mailgun’s plugin has no email logging, so people wanting a record move to Post SMTP or WP Mail SMTP.
• Teams wanting failure alerts and automatic retries move to Post SMTP.
• Sites sending through Amazon SES specifically move to WP Offload SES.

WP Mail SMTP – Overall replacement

WP Mail SMTP, by Awesome Motive, is the most widely used SMTP plugin, with guided setup for Mailgun, SendGrid, SES, and others plus built-in email logging. Against Mailgun for WordPress, it is provider-agnostic and adds a setup wizard and logs. What it does not do: white-glove setup, detailed logging, and some providers’ one-click configuration are reserved for paid plans.

Choose WP Mail SMTP if you want a guided, provider-agnostic setup with logging.

Post SMTP – Alerts and retries

Post SMTP is a free, actively developed SMTP plugin with detailed logging, failure notifications, a backup connection, and a mobile app. Against Mailgun for WordPress, it supports many providers and warns you when mail fails. What it does not do: its wider feature set makes it heavier and slightly more complex to set up than a single-provider plugin.

Choose Post SMTP if you want delivery failure alerts and a backup sending route.

WP Offload SES – Amazon SES sending

WP Offload SES, from Delicious Brains, now part of WP Engine, is purpose-built to send WordPress email through Amazon SES, with queueing and reporting. Against Mailgun for WordPress, it is the specialist choice if SES is your provider. What it does not do: it is tied to Amazon SES, so it is not a general multi-provider SMTP plugin.

Choose WP Offload SES if you specifically want to send through Amazon SES.

FluentSMTP – Free multi-provider SMTP

FluentSMTP, from WPManageNinja, connects to Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, and others and logs email, entirely free with no paid tier. Against Mailgun for WordPress, it supports many providers and includes logging at no cost. What it does not do: it offers no paid support tier, so you rely on community and documentation for help.

Choose FluentSMTP if you want free, multi-provider SMTP with built-in logging.

SMTP Mailer – Simple SMTP setup

SMTP Mailer is a lightweight plugin for routing WordPress email through a single SMTP server with minimal configuration. Against Mailgun for WordPress, it is provider-neutral and simple to point at any SMTP host. What it does not do: it is basic, with no email logging or provider-specific API integrations, so troubleshooting delivery is harder.

Choose SMTP Mailer if you want a bare-bones plugin to route mail through any SMTP server.

When to stay on Mailgun for WordPress

Stay on Mailgun for WordPress if Mailgun is your provider, your mail is delivering reliably, and you value the official plugin’s direct API integration. It is simple and maintained by Mailgun itself, so for a single-provider setup that works, there is little reason to add features you will not use. Switching mainly helps if you need logging, alerts, or provider flexibility.

How we ranked these

Every plugin here is scored by the WPS Score, a single 0 to 10 rating built from 21 signals covering maintenance, support responsiveness, compatibility, performance, and ratings quality across our index of 55,000+ plugins. Rankings are derived from that data, not editorial preference, and no plugin author can pay to change a score. How the WPS Score works.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free alternative to the Mailgun WordPress plugin?

FluentSMTP is the best free option because it supports Mailgun and many other providers and logs every email at no cost. Post SMTP is another strong free choice, adding failure alerts and a backup sending route.

Does the official Mailgun plugin log emails?

No. The official Mailgun for WordPress plugin sends mail through Mailgun’s API but does not keep an email log inside WordPress. Plugins like WP Mail SMTP, Post SMTP, and FluentSMTP record outgoing messages so you can confirm what was sent.

Can I use Mailgun with WP Mail SMTP instead?

Yes. WP Mail SMTP includes a Mailgun integration, so you can keep Mailgun as your sending service while gaining a setup wizard, email logging, and support for switching providers later without changing plugins.

The verdict

For most sites the best Mailgun plugin replacement is WP Mail SMTP for its guided setup and logging, while FluentSMTP is the best free pick and Post SMTP the choice for alerts and retries. If Mailgun is your provider and delivery is solid, staying on the official Mailgun for WordPress plugin is perfectly reasonable.