Choose Mailgun if
- You need classic MTA features — routing rules, dedicated IPs, email validation at scale.
- You're migrating from on-prem MTA and want the same shape of API.
- Your workload is outbound-heavy with human recipients.
Choose Loomal if
- Your agents need inboxes they own, not just sending credentials.
- You want credentials and 2FA in the same identity as the mailbox.
- Per-agent isolation matters more than IP-level routing controls.
- You want MCP tools and a modern TypeScript/Python SDK shape.
Feature-by-feature
| Feature | Loomal | Mailgun | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| MTA features (routing, IPs) | Managed, not user-tunable | Deep, including dedicated IPs | |
| Inbound routes | Inbox per identity | Routes to webhooks/forwards | |
| Thread stitching | Automatic | Manual | |
| LLM-ready text extraction | extractedText field | Not available | |
| Per-agent identity | Native | Subdomains as a workaround | |
| Vault | AES-256, scoped | None | |
| TOTP | Built in | None | |
| Email validation API | Not in scope | Bulk validation available | |
| MCP server | First-party | None | |
| Delegation chain | Native | Not a concept |
Different eras, different problems
Mailgun grew up in the era when the MTA was the thing you wanted to offload — your app generated a message, Mailgun delivered it. Inbound was an afterthought bolted on later. That shape still works for many workloads.
Loomal is built for a newer problem. When the sender is an AI agent, the mailbox isn't an outbound-only stream anymore. The agent sends, waits for a reply, reads and parses the response, decides what to do next. The integration surface has to treat the inbox as an API-first thing, and credentials have to sit alongside it because the agent will need them.
The integration surface test
A useful rule of thumb: count how many services your agent touches to complete one business workflow. If your agent sends an email, reads a reply, extracts a code, and logs into a dashboard using stored credentials, Mailgun covers one of those four and you're integrating three other systems. Loomal covers all four with one API key and one identity. For small teams, that ratio matters.
FAQ
Does Loomal support dedicated IPs?
For enterprise plans, yes. Most agent workloads don't need them, but if you're sending at volume on a custom domain, contact us.
Can Loomal do email validation?
Out of scope — we don't validate third-party email lists. If that's a core need, keep Mailgun or use a validation-specific service alongside Loomal.
How do Mailgun routes compare to Loomal labels?
Mailgun routes fire webhooks based on patterns; Loomal's webhook fires on every inbound message and the agent decides what to do. Labels are how the agent (or your code) organizes threads after delivery.
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Last updated: 2026-04-15