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

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is a comprehensive email marketing and transactional platform, but if you need dedicated inbound email processing, MERU offers a more focused, developer-friendly solution without the platform complexity.

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Platform Comparison

Feature	MERU	Brevo
Core Focus	Inbound email processing	Transactional + marketing email
Setup Time	30 seconds (single API call)	Hours (DNS, routing, parsing)
Data Format	Clean, structured JSON	Raw MIME requiring parsing
Address Management	Dynamic API provisioning	Static domain configuration
Webhook Delivery	Direct per-address webhooks	Platform-wide routing
Storage Model	Stream-and-purge (SOC 2)	Message storage included

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Technical Integration

MERU: Simple & Direct

// Create address and process emails
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);
  
  // Email data already structured
  processEmail({
    subject: event.headers.subject,
    from: event.envelope.mailFrom,
    content: event.text,
    attachments: event.attachments, // Already decoded
    spamScore: event.spam.score
  });
  
  res.json({ status: 'received' });
});

Brevo: Complex Setup Required

// Brevo inbound requires:
// 1. DNS MX record configuration
// 2. Webhook endpoint setup in dashboard
// 3. Manual MIME parsing
// 4. Custom attachment handling

app.post('/brevo-webhook', (req, res) => {
  const rawMessage = req.body;
  
  // Manual parsing required
  const parsed = parseRawMIME(rawMessage.content);
  
  // Handle attachments manually
  const attachments = parsed.attachments.map(att => {
    return {
      filename: att.filename,
      data: Buffer.from(att.content, 'base64')
    };
  });
  
  processEmail(parsed);
});

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Use Case Analysis

Customer Support System

MERU Implementation:

• Create unique address per customer
• Direct webhook to support handler
• Automatic ticket creation from structured data
• Built-in spam filtering

Brevo Implementation:

• Configure domain-wide inbound routing
• Parse raw MIME in webhook handler
• Manual duplicate detection
• Custom spam filtering logic

Result: MERU reduces development time by 80%

Reply-by-Email Features

MERU:

• Per-user addresses: user123@mx.meruhook.com
• Direct routing to user-specific webhooks
• Automatic parsing and delivery

Brevo:

• Static addresses with routing rules
• Platform-wide webhook processing
• Manual routing logic required

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Pricing Analysis

MERU Pricing (Inbound-Only)

• Starter: $10/month → 1,300 inbound emails
• Growth: $25/month → 5,000 inbound emails
• Scale: $50/month → 15,000 inbound emails
• Enterprise: Custom for higher volumes

Brevo Pricing (Full Platform)

• Free: 300 emails/day (mixed outbound/inbound)
• Starter: €25/month for up to 20K emails
• Business: €65/month for up to 20K emails
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Cost Example for 5,000 inbound emails/month:

• MERU: $25/month
• Brevo: €65/month (~$70/month)
• Savings: ~65% with MERU

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Security & Compliance

MERU Security Model

• No long-term storage of email content
• Stream-and-purge processing
• SOC 2 aligned by design
• HMAC signature verification
• Per-webhook secrets for isolation

Brevo Security Model

• Message storage for platform features
• Shared infrastructure across services
• Platform-wide security controls
• Standard webhook verification

MERU provides better data privacy for sensitive inbound emails

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Developer Experience Comparison

API Design

MERU: Purpose-built for inbound

// Clean, focused API
await meru.addresses.create(options);
await meru.addresses.list(filters);
await meru.addresses.delete(addressId);

Brevo: General-purpose platform

// Mixed API covering all services
await brevo.transactionalEmails.send();
await brevo.contacts.create();
await brevo.campaigns.list();
// Inbound features scattered across platform

Documentation Quality

• MERU: Focused entirely on inbound use cases
• Brevo: Comprehensive but scattered across services

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When to Choose Each Platform

Choose MERU if:

• Primary need: Inbound email processing
• Developer-focused team and requirements
• Cost-sensitive project or startup
• Privacy-first approach required
• Simple integration preferred

Choose Brevo if:

• Need both inbound AND outbound email
• Marketing automation is also required
• Contact management features needed
• Existing Brevo infrastructure in place
• European data residency required

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Migration Path

From Brevo to MERU

1. Audit current usage - identify inbound vs outbound needs
2. Set up MERU with test webhooks
3. Update DNS routing for inbound addresses
4. Migrate webhook processing logic
5. Test thoroughly before switching production traffic
6. Keep Brevo for outbound/marketing if needed

Timeline: 1-2 days for typical implementations

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The Bottom Line

Brevo is a solid all-in-one email platform, but if your primary need is inbound email processing, you’re paying for complexity you don’t need.

MERU provides: ✅ Faster implementation - minutes vs hours
✅ Lower costs - 65% savings for inbound-only use
✅ Better security - stream-and-purge processing
✅ Developer focus - APIs designed for inbound
✅ Cleaner integration - no MIME parsing required

For teams that need reliable, cost-effective inbound email processing, MERU is the clear choice.

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