Two transactional email providers, compared on price, features and ratings, so you can pick fast.
Updated November 2026
THE VERDICT
Loops wins on deliverability and developer experience. Mandrill wins on cost at scale.
Loops starts at Free versus Mandrill's $20. Pick based on volume and team, and the scorecard below breaks down where each one leads.
Winner cells are tinted, green where Loops leads, violet where Mandrill does.
FAQ
Loops starts at Free versus Mandrill's $20. Because pricing models differ by tier, the cheaper option depends on your monthly volume, so compare the pricing rows in the scorecard above.
Loops paid plans start at $49 per month for up to 5,000 subscribed contacts, and pricing is based on contact count rather than email volume. All features are included at every tier, and transactional sending is unlimited on paid plans. Some published sources cite a lower contact allowance at this price point, so check the live pricing slider for your exact contact count.
Mailchimp publishes official Transactional API client libraries for Node.js, PHP, Ruby, and Python. The API is also accessible over plain HTTP/REST and via SMTP relay, so it can be used from any language even without an official SDK.
Yes. Many teams route different message types through different providers or fail over between them. Courier lets you send through both behind a single API and switch providers without changing your code.
Why not both?
Use both behind one API.
Route Loops, Mandrill, or both, and switch providers without changing your code. Courier sits in front of every channel.
Pricing, plans and feature availability as of November 2026 and may change. Ratings are aggregated from public review platforms. Mandrill is Mailchimp Transactional.