# Mailgun consultant: email your systems can read as well as send. > SBD builds Mailgun setups that receive email, pass it to AI and business systems, and send authenticated transactional messages, for teams of 5 to 1,000 people. Workflow automation builds start at $1,500, with the fixed price set after a $500 Automation Audit that is credited to the build. - Canonical: https://smallbaydigital.com/integrations/tools/mailgun/ - Publisher: SmallBay Digital ## What a Mailgun expert from SBD builds Many business processes still start with an email: a request for quotation, a purchase order, a supplier invoice. Mailgun can receive that email at an address you control and hand it to your systems as data, so nobody has to retype it. Our published example is an [enquiry platform for an industrial distributor](https://smallbaydigital.com/case-studies/rfq-to-quotation-on-sap/), which reads emailed RFQs with AI and matches parts against the SAP item master. Mailgun, [Retool](https://smallbaydigital.com/integrations/tools/retool/), OpenAI and Cloudflare are in that stack. - Inbound addresses that turn each email and attachment into a record. - AI extraction with a person checking anything uncertain. - Transactional email from apps, with domain authentication set up first. - Delivery and bounce events written back so the app shows what happened. ## When Mailgun is the right choice, and when it is not Mailgun suits systems where receiving and parsing email matters as much as sending it. If an app only sends notifications, a simpler service such as [Resend](https://smallbaydigital.com/integrations/tools/resend/) may be enough. Inbound email needs careful handling. Anyone can write to the address, so we check senders, cope with duplicates and forwarded threads, and keep the original message so a person can see what the AI read. - You only send a few notifications from one app; a simpler service costs less attention. - Your team needs to read and answer the email; a shared inbox or helpdesk fits better. - You want cold outreach; use a tool built for it, and keep it away from your transactional domain. ## Mailgun plans and sending volume Mailgun prices by monthly email volume, and features such as inbound routing and log retention vary by plan. Check the current figures on its [pricing page](https://www.mailgun.com/pricing/). During the audit we estimate your sending and receiving volume so the plan is chosen against real numbers. ## How hiring a Mailgun consultant from SBD works Every engagement starts with an [Automation Audit](https://smallbaydigital.com/services/audit/) at $500, credited in full to your build. For Mailgun we collect a sample of real emails, check how much of each can be read reliably, review your domain setup and estimate monthly volume. Workflow automation builds start at $1,500, and the fixed price is set after the audit and agreed before work begins. Your Mailgun subscription is paid by you to Mailgun. We do not resell licences. ## What you own, and what happens when an email cannot be read The Mailgun account, the domains and every connected system stay in your name. You receive a runbook covering each address and route, what happens to each message, and how to replay one. Emails that fail or look uncertain go to a review queue with a named owner, and nothing is dropped silently. ## Related - [Case study: RFQs read by AI and matched to SAP](https://smallbaydigital.com/case-studies/rfq-to-quotation-on-sap/) - [Connect Mailgun and Retool](https://smallbaydigital.com/integrations/mailgun-and-retool-automation/) - [Retool consultant](https://smallbaydigital.com/integrations/tools/retool/) - [Resend](https://smallbaydigital.com/integrations/tools/resend/) - [OpenAI](https://smallbaydigital.com/integrations/tools/openai/) - [AI agents](https://smallbaydigital.com/services/ai-agents/) ## Sources - Mailgun: Documentation for receiving, forwarding and storing messages, checked 4 November 2026 - Mailgun: Pricing page, linked for current figures