So how does this compare to something like SendGrid? More or less a direct competitor? I noticed you can only send mail via the API (no SMTP relay). Any other notable differences?
We're trying to make Mandrill a stable email platform for all uses, so in that way we're similar to SendGrid. Where we're really trying to focus isn't so much in just the delivery of the email, though we do have a ton of experience doing that well.
Mandrill is a product that is trying to make your application-driven emails as easily tracked, tested, and understood as the bulk email you'd send using MailChimp. It's still early days for the product and we're still iterating rapidly, but that's where we're trying to get.
We're also integrated with MailChimp itself. We've got a big discount for paid MailChimp users that want to use Mandrill, and you can share templates between Mandrill and MailChimp easily. We'll be integrating more deeply in the future - really trying to make a one-stop shop for email-related needs for businesses.
I think deep integration with MailChimp is a huge reason to use Mandrill. I'm not and have never been a paid MailChimp customer, but this might get me there.
I currently use MailGun for transactional e-mail, and CampaignMonitor for marketing e-mail. MailGun's UI is really rough, so Mandrill is pulling me in for that reason alone, and CampaignMonitor pretty great but I haven't use it lately any way.
Have you considered discounts for developers deploying individual accounts for clients?
Cancel that -- you CAN do a simple SMTP relay. Looks like a solid service. I'll consider switching. Your free plan is about twice what SendGrid offers.
Mandrill is a product that is trying to make your application-driven emails as easily tracked, tested, and understood as the bulk email you'd send using MailChimp. It's still early days for the product and we're still iterating rapidly, but that's where we're trying to get.
We're also integrated with MailChimp itself. We've got a big discount for paid MailChimp users that want to use Mandrill, and you can share templates between Mandrill and MailChimp easily. We'll be integrating more deeply in the future - really trying to make a one-stop shop for email-related needs for businesses.