Best SendGrid alternatives
Recommendations for teams leaving SendGrid after the May 2025 free-tier removal.
criteria
- Free tier
- API ergonomics
- Deliverability
- Migration effort
- 01
Postmark
TransactionalFor teams that valued SendGrid as transactional only.
- 02
Mailgun
TransactionalClosest API ergonomics if you used the SMTP plus API combo.
- 03
Amazon SES
TransactionalFor volume-heavy senders with AWS infrastructure.
- 04
Mailtrap
Transactional TestingTesting plus sending with a generous free tier.
- 05
Loops
Marketing TransactionalIf you used SendGrid for marketing as well as transactional.
- 06
Brevo
Transactional MarketingClosest replacement for SendGrid Marketing Campaigns.
- 07
Elastic Email
Transactional MarketingLower-cost API and SMTP relay if price matters more than brand recognition.
- 08
SendPulse
Transactional MarketingBest SendGrid alternative when free SMTP volume is the deciding factor.
- 09
Resend
TransactionalModern API for new React stacks. Confirm volume pricing fits.
All 9 compared
Every provider in this ranking against the priorities developers picking email infrastructure weigh. Free tier and entry price sit with each pick above.
| Provider | DX score | SDKs | Idempotency keys | Operating since | Event stream | Best published rate per 1,000 | Webhooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postmark | 9/10 | node, python, go, ruby, php, java, elixir, rust, dotnet | No | 2010 | Yes | $1.50 | Yes |
| Mailgun | 7/10 | node, python, go, ruby, php, java | No | 2010 | Yes | $0.70 | Yes |
| Amazon SES | 4/10 | node, python, go, ruby, php, java, rust, dotnet | No | 2011 | Yes | $0.10 | No |
| Mailtrap | 8/10 | node, python, go, ruby, php, elixir | No | 2014 | Yes | Tiers not published in comparable form | Yes |
| Loops | 9/10 | node, python, go, ruby, php | No | 2022 | Yes | Tiers not published in comparable form | Yes |
| Brevo | 7/10 | node, python, go, ruby, php, java, dotnet | No | 2012 | Yes | Tiers not published in comparable form | Yes |
| Elastic Email | 7/10 | node, python, php, java, dotnet | No | Not published | Yes | Tiers not published in comparable form | Yes |
| SendPulse | 6/10 | None | No | Not published | Yes | Tiers not published in comparable form | Yes |
| Resend | 8/10 | node, python, go, ruby, php, rust, java, elixir, cli | Yes | 2023 | Yes | $0.35 | Yes |
If you are developers picking email infrastructure
The question here is which one a backend engineer would rather operate. That means SDK depth in the language already in use, whether a retry can safely be replayed, how much the event log tells you when a customer says the email never arrived, and whether the pricing curve stays sane as volume grows.
The order above is the general editorial ranking. Re-sorted against developer experience, SDK breadth, and idempotency keys, the shortlist for password resets, receipts, and magic links shipped from application code becomes Resend, Postmark, and Mailgun. That differs from the headline order, which weighs all audiences together.