MERU Inbound vs MailerSend: The Better Way to Handle Inbound Email

MailerSend focuses on transactional email delivery with modern developer tools. However, for dedicated inbound email processing, MERU provides specialized capabilities that transactional platforms can’t match.

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Platform Focus Comparison

Aspect	MERU	MailerSend
Primary Focus	Inbound email processing	Transactional email delivery
Inbound Support	Core product, comprehensive	Secondary feature, limited
API Design	Inbound-optimized	Transactional-optimized
Developer Experience	Inbound workflows	Outbound workflows
Data Processing	Stream-and-purge	Traditional storage

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Technical Implementation

MERU: Inbound-First

// Rich inbound processing
const address = await meru.addresses.create({
  userId: 'user_123',
  webhookUrl: 'https://your-app.com/webhook'
});

app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  const event = meru.verifyWebhook(req.body, req.headers);
  
  const email = {
    subject: event.headers.subject,
    from: event.envelope.mailFrom,
    content: event.text || event.html,
    attachments: event.attachments,
    spam: event.spam.score,
    authentication: event.authResults
  };
  
  processInboundEmail(email);
  res.json({ status: 'received' });
});

MailerSend: Limited Inbound

// Basic inbound webhook (if available)
app.post('/mailersend-inbound', (req, res) => {
  // Limited inbound data structure
  // No rich metadata
  // Manual processing required
  res.json({ status: 'ok' });
});

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Feature Matrix

Feature	MERU	MailerSend
Dynamic Addresses	✅ Full API support	❌ Limited
Spam Filtering	✅ Built-in ML	❌ Not available
Structured Data	✅ Rich JSON	❌ Basic format
Per-Address Webhooks	✅ Unique endpoints	❌ Not supported
Authentication Data	✅ SPF/DKIM/DMARC	❌ Limited
Attachment Processing	✅ Automatic	❌ Manual

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Pricing Comparison

MERU: $10/month for 1,300 inbound emails MailerSend: Primarily transactional pricing, limited inbound

For inbound-focused needs, MERU provides better value and specialized features.

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When to Choose Each

Choose MERU for: Dedicated inbound processing, developer-friendly APIs, specialized features

Choose MailerSend for: Transactional email delivery, modern outbound tools, email templates

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