EmailQA is a Mailgun Inspect alternative that costs $20 per month for 1,000 real-device renders with no overage charges, compared to Mailgun Inspect's Basic plan at around $99 per month for 1,000 previews plus $0.15-per-preview overages. Where EmailQA does meter, on the $99 Business plan, it is $0.05 a render against three times the included volume. It focuses on real-device rendering previews and pin-based reviewer feedback without requiring reviewer accounts, but does not do spam testing or accessibility checks.
Usage-based email QA suite replacing Email on Acid
Best for: Email on Acid customers keeping the full pre-deployment QA suite through the 2026 migration
Email preview & feedback tool
Best for: Teams using the migration moment to switch to flat pricing for rendering, feedback, and approvals
| Feature | Mailgun Inspect | EmailQA |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | ~$99/month (Basic) | Free (14-day Pro trial) |
| Pricing model | Usage-based with overages | $20/mo flat |
| Overage rate | $0.15/preview on every plan | None on Pro; $0.05/render on Business |
| Monthly allowance | 1,000 previews on Basic ($99) | 1,000 renders on Pro ($20) |
| Free plan | Capped free tier | Yes (3 projects/month) |
| Email preview | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-device preview | Yes | Yes |
| Real device rendering | Yes | Yes |
| Visual feedback | Basic comments | Pin & box comments |
| Guest reviewer access | Limited / paid seat | Unlimited, no account |
| ESP integrations | On 2026 roadmap | 9 ESPs on Pro |
| Accessibility check | Yes | No |
| Spam analysis | Yes | No |
| Link & image validation | Yes | No |
| Approval workflow | Pre-send QA workflow | Included in trial, then $20/mo |
| Version comparison | Limited | Visual slider |
| Rendering API | Included (usage-based) | $99/mo Business, 3,000 renders shared with the app |
We would rather you pick the right tool than the cheap one. Stay with Mailgun Inspect if:
Mailgun Inspect is the email QA suite replacing Email on Acid. Starting June 2026, Email on Acid subscription customers are being migrated to Inspect, with annual customers moving at the end of their current term. Inspect keeps the core QA tools (email previews, accessibility checks, spam analysis, link and image validation, code analysis) but switches to usage-based pricing: a capped free tier, then a Basic plan at around $99/month for 1,000 previews with overage charges beyond that.
Yes. EmailQA Pro is $20/month flat, with a 14-day free Pro trial and no credit card required. Mailgun Inspect starts at around $99/month for the Basic plan plus usage-based overages once you pass your preview cap. Switching saves a small team roughly $950/year versus a $99/month plan, and Pro has no overage at all — nothing to be surprised by.
Pro ($20/month) includes 1,000 real-device renders a month — one render is one email client, with light and dark counting as one, so that is about 90 full checks across every client. Pro has no overage at all: if you run out, rendering waits for the 1st and everything else keeps working. Only Business ($99/month, 3,000 renders) bills overage, at $0.05 a render — a third of Mailgun Inspect's $0.15. Mailgun meters previews on every plan and charges overages beyond your cap.
For rendering, previews, and team review, yes. EmailQA covers real device rendering on Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail and more in Light Mode and Dark Mode, plus pin-based comments, no-account guest review, version comparison, and approval workflows. It does not replace Inspect's spam analysis, accessibility checks, or code analysis. If those audits are required in your process, some teams keep Inspect for the audit step and use EmailQA for everything else.
Mailgun Inspect is the better choice if: You need the automated audit suite: accessibility checks, spam analysis, and link, image, and code validation; Your preview volume fits comfortably inside the plan caps, so usage pricing stays predictable; You want to keep the Email on Acid QA workflow your team already knows through the migration. For teams that mainly need rendering previews and stakeholder review, EmailQA covers that for $20/month flat.