7 Best SendGrid Alternatives in 2026 (Free + Paid)

For new direct SendGrid signups, the permanent free plan is gone. New accounts get a 60-day trial at 100 emails per day, then Email API plans start at $19.95 per month. Twilio retired the free plan on May 27, 2025.

This guide compares current pricing, product fit, and migration work. Pricing was checked against each provider's official page on August 11, 2026.

What changed at SendGrid?

2019Twilio acquires SendGridTwilio acquires SendGrid for $3B.Source

Mar 25, 2025New direct signups moved to trialNew direct SendGrid accounts start on a 60-day free trial (100 emails/day).Source

May 27, 2025Free tier retiredTwilio marks the free-plan change complete; paid Email API plans start at $19.95/mo.Source

1. 2019Twilio acquires SendGridTwilio acquires SendGrid for $3B.Source
2. Mar 25, 2025New direct signups moved to trialNew direct SendGrid accounts start on a 60-day free trial (100 emails/day).Source
3. May 27, 2025Free tier retiredTwilio marks the free-plan change complete; paid Email API plans start at $19.95/mo.Source

SendGrid now gives new direct accounts a 60-day trial at 100 emails per day. After that, Email API pricing starts at $19.95 per month. Pro starts at $89.95 per month for teams that need features such as dedicated IPs.

SendGrid can still fit teams that value its API, account controls, and marketing add-on. The alternatives become more attractive when you need a permanent free tier, a different workflow model, or lower raw infrastructure cost.

Free plans compared

These allowances are not equivalent. Check daily caps, log retention, recipient restrictions, and whether marketing is priced separately.

Quick comparison

Provider	Starting Price	Best For	Migration
Mailgun	$15/mo for 10K	Developer teams who need email validation + sending	2/5
Postmark	$15/mo for 10K	Teams wanting clean transactional/broadcast stream separation	2/5
Resend	$20/mo for 50K transactional	React/Next.js devs wanting modern DX	2/5
Amazon SES	~$1.60 for 10K on Essentials	High-volume senders on AWS with engineering resources	4/5
Mailtrap	$15/mo for 10K	Developer teams wanting built-in stream separation and provider-level reporting	2/5
Brevo	From $9/mo for 5K	Small businesses wanting email + CRM + SMS in one tool	2/5
SMTP2GO	$10/mo for 10K	SMTP-first teams wanting support and predictable low-volume pricing	2/5
Dreamlit (our product)	$20/mo for 30K shared sends	Supabase/Postgres teams wanting one complete email layer	3/5

The starting prices above cover different products. Resend prices marketing separately by contacts, Dreamlit shares one allowance across email types, and Amazon SES is infrastructure rather than a full workflow tool.

1. Mailgun: best for sending plus validation

Mailgun combines API and SMTP sending with email validation. Its current plans include 100 emails per day free, Basic at $15 for 10,000 emails, and Foundation from $35 for 50,000.

• Choose it when: validation and sending should live in one developer-focused service.
• Watch for: free accounts are restricted to five authorized recipients until a payment card is added, and log retention is short on lower tiers.
• Compared with SendGrid: the entry plan is cheaper, but SendGrid costs less at 50,000 emails and offers a separate marketing-campaigns product.
• Migration: easy for most API or SMTP integrations. Map webhook schemas and template syntax before cutover.

2. Postmark: best for explicit stream separation

Postmark uses Message Streams to separate transactional and broadcast traffic. Pricing starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails; the free developer tier is limited to 100 emails per month.

Reputation architecture

Separate transactional and broadcast streams

Transactional and broadcast stream separation

Stream	Examples	Suggested subdomain
Transactional	Password resets, receipts, security alerts	auth.example.com
Broadcast	Newsletters, launches, promotions	news.example.com

• Choose it when: transactional reputation and clear traffic separation matter more than built-in campaign automation.
• Watch for: Postmark has broadcast sending but not a full marketing suite with automation, segmentation, and A/B testing.
• Compared with SendGrid: Postmark makes stream separation explicit; SendGrid is cheaper in our 100,000-email workload and offers broader marketing tooling.
• Migration: usually straightforward. Plan a separate marketing tool if you need more than broadcasts.

3. Resend: best for React and Next.js teams

Resend works closely with React Email, so templates can live as JSX components. Its transactional plans include 3,000 emails per month free, $20 for 50,000, and $35 for 100,000. Paid overage is $0.90 per 1,000 emails.

• Choose it when: developers own templates in code and your application uses React or Next.js.
• Watch for: the free plan has a 100-per-day cap and one domain. Marketing broadcasts use a separate contact-based plan.
• Compared with SendGrid: Resend has a permanent free tier and code-first templates; SendGrid has a visual editor, subusers, and IP-pool controls.
• Migration: API changes are usually modest. Rebuilding many hosted SendGrid templates in React Email is the larger task.

For a workload comparison, see Resend vs SendGrid vs Dreamlit.

4. Amazon SES: best for low raw sending cost

Amazon SES is AWS email infrastructure, not a complete workflow product. New accounts begin on Essentials at $0.16 per 1,000 messages for the first 10 million monthly sends. The previous SES-specific 3,000-message allowance does not apply to new accounts, though general AWS credits may.

• Choose it when: your team already operates on AWS and can own templates, analytics, monitoring, and IAM configuration.
• Watch for: new accounts start in the SES sandbox. Production access, authentication, event handling, and operational tooling require setup.
• Compared with SendGrid: SES has lower raw send charges; SendGrid supplies more of the dashboard, template, analytics, and support layer.
• Migration: the most involved option here. Existing active SES accounts may have a different pricing path, so check the AWS console first.

5. Mailtrap: best for a focused sending stack with a permanent free tier

Mailtrap provides production REST and SMTP delivery on a permanent free tier, then adds separate transactional and bulk streams as teams scale. Its reporting breaks out accepted delivery, opens, clicks, bounces, and spam complaints by mailbox provider, and a separate sandbox remains available for pre-production testing.

• Choose it when: you want a focused sending service with transactional and bulk traffic isolated automatically.
• Watch for: accepted delivery confirms that a mailbox provider received the message, not that it reached the inbox. Log retention is three days free, five days on Basic, 15 days on Business, and 30 days on Enterprise. Dedicated IPs and 24/7 support start on Business.
• Compared with SendGrid: Mailtrap provides a permanent free tier and separates transactional and bulk traffic by default; SendGrid has broader account controls and a more established marketing product.
• Migration: REST and SMTP cover the common paths. Map events, suppressions, and retention requirements before switching all traffic.

Mailtrap pricing includes 4,000 emails per month free, Basic at $15 for 10,000, Business at $85 for 100,000, and Enterprise at $750 for 1.5 million.

6. Brevo: best for an all-in-one business platform

Brevo combines transactional email, campaigns, CRM, SMS, and WhatsApp. Its pricing includes 300 emails per day free, Starter from $9 per month, and Standard from $18. Paid totals vary with send volume, contact storage, and add-ons.

• Choose it when: marketing and operations teams want several communication channels in one interface.
• Watch for: the final bill depends on more than the starting tier, so price your actual send volume and contact storage.
• Compared with SendGrid: Brevo bundles more business tooling; SendGrid gives developers more granular transactional and account controls.
• Migration: API and SMTP paths are available. The larger change is adapting team workflows to Brevo's broader suite.

7. SMTP2GO: best for straightforward SMTP relay

SMTP2GO offers SMTP relay, an email API, reporting, subaccounts, and webhooks. Its pricing includes 1,000 emails per month free, Starter at $10 monthly for 10,000, and Professional at $75 monthly for 100,000. Starter overage is $1 per 1,000 emails, with a limit on how far the plan can exceed its allowance.

• Choose it when: an existing application, device, or plugin already speaks SMTP and your team values accessible support.
• Watch for: the free plan keeps five days of history and limits unverified senders to 25 emails per hour.
• Compared with SendGrid: SMTP2GO has a permanent free plan and human support on paid plans; SendGrid costs less in our 50,000-email workload and has a marketing product.
• Migration: replace SMTP credentials or API calls, map events, authenticate the domain, and test suppressions.

Where Dreamlit fits

Dreamlit is the product we make, and it is not part of the numbered third-party ranking. It is a workflow layer for Supabase and Postgres: database changes can trigger transactional, lifecycle, recurring, or broadcast email without a separate sync job.

Dreamlit pricing includes 3,000 shared sends per month free, Pro at $20 monthly for 30,000 sends, and Scale at $99 monthly for 100,000. Annual billing lowers Pro to $16 per month and Scale to $79 per month.

• Choose it when: product email should follow current Supabase or Postgres data and your team wants to build workflows rather than individual API calls.
• Watch for: if product data lives only in MySQL, MongoDB, or Firebase, an API-first provider will usually fit more directly.
• Compared with SendGrid: Dreamlit owns workflow logic and live database context; SendGrid is a general delivery API and marketing platform.
• Migration: run both systems in parallel. Move database-driven onboarding, lifecycle, and re-engagement workflows first.

Cost by monthly API volume

This table uses the cheapest ongoing monthly plan for a new account. It excludes contact storage, marketing plans, data transfer, attachments, and optional add-ons.

* SendGrid offers 100 emails per day free for 60 days, then requires a paid plan.

** SES estimates use $0.16 per 1,000 messages. Existing accounts may be eligible for à-la-carte pricing.

† Mailtrap's 50,000-email estimate uses Basic at $15 plus its published $1 per 1,000 overage. Mailtrap caps overage, so confirm the permitted volume before relying on this path.

Postmark estimates above use its Platform plan and published $1.20 per 1,000 overage. For a mixed workload with contacts and campaigns, use our worked comparison.

How to choose

• Mailgun: sending plus email validation.
• Postmark: explicit transactional and broadcast separation.
• Resend: React Email and code-owned templates.
• Amazon SES: low infrastructure cost with in-house engineering ownership.
• Mailtrap: separate transactional and bulk streams with provider-level reporting.
• Brevo: campaigns, CRM, SMS, and transactional email together.
• SMTP2GO: SMTP relay with support and predictable low-volume plans.
• Dreamlit: database-driven email workflows on Supabase or Postgres.

No provider guarantees inbox placement. Authentication, list quality, reputation, and sending patterns still matter. Our 2026 email deliverability benchmarks explain the measured rates and the limits of provider comparisons.

Other options

Consider MailerSend when non-developers maintain transactional templates, Mailjet when you want campaigns and API sending together, SendPulse for a wider omnichannel suite, Elastic Email for low advertised API pricing, or Mailchimp Transactional if you already pay for Mailchimp marketing.

Want database-driven product email? Try Dreamlit free. Connect Supabase or Postgres, then build workflows around live application data.

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References

1. SendGrid Email API Pricing
2. Mailgun Pricing
3. Postmark Pricing
4. Resend Pricing
5. Amazon SES Pricing
6. Brevo Pricing
7. Mailtrap Pricing
8. SMTP2GO Pricing
9. AWS: Introducing SES Pricing Plans
10. Twilio SendGrid Trial Account Plan
11. Changes coming to SendGrid's Free Plan
12. SendGrid Marketing Campaigns Pricing
13. Mailtrap Bulk Stream
14. Mailtrap Mailbox Providers Analytics

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Frequently asked questions

Is SendGrid still worth using in 2026?

SendGrid can still be a good fit for higher-volume teams, especially on higher tiers with dedicated IPs. For smaller teams, pricing and shared-IP trade-offs make alternatives more attractive.

What's the best free SendGrid alternative?

It depends on your needs. Brevo offers 300 emails/day free, Mailtrap gives 4,000/month free, Resend provides 3,000 transactional emails/month free, and Dreamlit offers 3,000 shared sends/month for Supabase/Postgres-native workflows.

Can I migrate from SendGrid without downtime?

Yes. Most teams run providers in parallel during migration: set up domain authentication, test a subset of traffic, then gradually shift sends.

What's the cheapest SendGrid alternative for high volume?

For new accounts, Amazon SES Essentials has the lowest raw sending price in this comparison at $0.16 per 1,000 emails for the first 10 million monthly messages. It requires more engineering ownership and is not a complete workflow product.

Which SendGrid alternative has the best deliverability?

There is no universal winner. Deliverability depends more on sender reputation, list quality, authentication, and sending patterns than on provider brand alone.

Does SendGrid still have a free tier?

Not for new direct SendGrid signups. New accounts get a 60-day free trial (100 emails/day), then must move to a paid Email API plan starting at $19.95/month. Resend offers 3,000 transactional emails/month plus a separate 1,000-contact marketing tier; Dreamlit offers 3,000 shared sends/month. Brevo and Mailtrap also offer permanent free sending plans.

What is better than SendGrid?

It depends on your priorities. Mailgun fits validation and sending, Postmark fits explicit transactional/broadcast separation, Resend fits React and Next.js teams, Amazon SES fits low-cost AWS infrastructure, Mailtrap fits teams that want separate transactional and bulk streams with provider-level reporting, Brevo fits email plus CRM, SMTP2GO fits straightforward SMTP, and Dreamlit fits database-driven workflows.

Why is SendGrid so expensive?

SendGrid's Email API entry point is $19.95/month after a 60-day trial. For teams sending under 10,000 transactional emails a month, several alternatives are cheaper or free. New Amazon SES accounts pay about $1.60 for 10,000 Essentials sends before data and add-ons, while Resend, Mailtrap, SMTP2GO, and Dreamlit have permanent free tiers with different scopes.

Is Mailtrap a good SendGrid alternative?

Yes, especially for teams that want separate transactional and bulk streams, provider-level delivery reporting, and a permanent free sending plan. Its shorter log retention on lower tiers is the main trade-off.