SendGrid
by Twilio Inc.
Email delivery API and marketing platform acquired by Twilio, handling billions of emails monthly with high deliverability. SendGrid is an email delivery API and marketing platform originally founded in 2009 and acquired by Twilio in 2019 for $3 billion. As of April 2026, SendGrid processes billions of emails per month for more than 80,000 customers, providing both transactional email delivery (API-driven) and email marketing (campaign builder).
Performance Scores
1 ranking evaluated
Score range: 7.4 – 7.4
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#7Best Email Automation Tools in 2026
Score: 7.4 · Best for: Developer teams and SaaS companies needing high-volume transactional email with API access
Key Facts
pricing
| Attribute | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SendGrid pricing (July 2026) | Twilio SendGrid pricing (verified July 2026): Email API — the free plan is now a 60-day trial (100 emails/day), Essentials from $19.95/mo (base 50K emails), Pro from $89.95/mo (base 100K emails, dedicated IP), Premier custom (5M+). Marketing Campaigns — Basic from $15/mo (5K contacts), Advanced from $60/mo (10K contacts), plus a custom tier. sendgrid.com now redirects into twilio.com. | Jul 2026 | Twilio SendGrid pricing |
General
| Attribute | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | Acquired by Twilio in 2019 for $3 billion | Jul 2026 | Twilio press release (Twilio Completes Acquisition of SendGrid, Feb 1, 2019) |
| Customers | Twilio no longer publishes a SendGrid customer count; the platform sends 205B+ emails per month (as of July 2026) | Jul 2026 | Twilio SendGrid Email API product page |
| Deliverability | 99% deliverability rate claimed by Twilio (as of July 2026) | Jul 2026 | Twilio SendGrid Email API product page |
| Free Tier | 60-day free trial (100 emails/day); permanent free tier retired in 2025 | Jul 2026 | Twilio SendGrid Email API pricing page |
| Essentials Plan | $19.95/month (Essentials, from 50,000 emails/mo; 100K tier available; as of July 2026) | Jul 2026 | Twilio SendGrid Email API pricing page |
| Pro Plan | $89.95/month (Pro, from 100,000 emails/mo, tiers to 2.5M, includes 1 dedicated IP; as of July 2026) | Jul 2026 | Twilio SendGrid Email API pricing page |
| Templates | Dynamic templates with Handlebars syntax | Jul 2026 | Twilio SendGrid docs — Using Handlebars |
| Dedicated IP | Dedicated IP addresses on Pro and Premier plans | Jul 2026 | Twilio SendGrid Email API pricing page |
Strengths
- ●Processes 80+ billion emails per month with high deliverability infrastructure
- ●API-first architecture with SDKs for 7 programming languages
- ●Real-time Event Webhook for custom analytics and delivery monitoring
Limitations
- ●Marketing automation features are less visual than dedicated marketing platforms
- ●Template editor is functional but lacks the polish of Klaviyo or Mailchimp
Based on evaluations in 1 ranking: Best Email Automation Tools in 2026
Pricing Plans
Email API — Free Trial
60-day trial (not permanent free)
- ✓100 emails/day during trial
- !60-day trial
Email API — Essentials
From $19.95/mo (base 50K emails/mo)
- ✓No daily limit, ticket support
- !Scales with volume
Email API — Pro
From $89.95/mo (base 100K emails/mo)
- ✓Dedicated IP, sub-users
- ✓Email validation
Email API — Premier
Custom (5M+ emails/mo)
- ✓Priority support, dedicated AM
Marketing Campaigns — Basic
From $15/mo (base 5K contacts)
- ✓Drag-and-drop editor, drip
Marketing Campaigns — Advanced
From $60/mo (base 10K contacts)
- ✓Automation, dynamic segments
About SendGrid
SendGrid is an email delivery API and marketing platform originally founded in 2009 and acquired by Twilio in 2019 for $3 billion. As of April 2026, SendGrid processes billions of emails per month for more than 80,000 customers, providing both transactional email delivery (API-driven) and email marketing (campaign builder).
The Email API enables developers to send transactional emails (order confirmations, password resets, notifications) at high volume with a claimed deliverability rate exceeding 97%. The API supports SMTP relay and RESTful HTTP endpoints, dynamic templates with Handlebars syntax, email validation (to reduce bounces), and webhook events for real-time tracking of deliveries, opens, clicks, bounces, and unsubscribes. Dedicated IP addresses are available on Pro and Premier plans for organizations needing full control over sender reputation.
SendGrid offers four plans: Free (100 emails/day, single sender verification, basic APIs), Essentials at $19.95/month (up to 100,000 emails/month, no daily sending limit, ticket support), Pro at $89.95/month (up to 1.5 million emails/month, dedicated IP, sub-user management, email validation, phone support), and Premier at custom pricing (unlimited contacts, priority support, dedicated account manager). Marketing Campaigns (drag-and-drop email builder, contact management, segmentation, A/B testing) are available as an add-on or bundled with higher tiers.
SendGrid integrates with the Twilio platform (combining email with SMS, voice, and WhatsApp), Zapier, Make, Salesforce, Shopify, WordPress, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. The platform provides client libraries for Python, Ruby, Go, Java, Node.js, C#, and PHP.
Integrations (8)
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Questions About SendGrid
What does the Resend free tier include in 2026?
As of July 2026, the Resend free tier includes 3,000 emails/month, 100 emails/day, one verified domain, 30-day email log retention, and basic webhooks. It is intended for development, testing, and very small production sends; teams typically upgrade to the $20/month Pro plan (50,000 emails/month, multiple domains, audiences) once they exceed the 100-emails/day cap. The next step up is Scale at $90/month (100,000 emails, dedicated IP available). Resend's appeal is developer experience — React email templates and modern SDKs — rather than the free tier being the largest in the category.
How do you migrate from SendGrid to Resend in 2026?
A SendGrid-to-Resend migration in 2026 follows five steps: verify domains in Resend, port templates (Resend recommends React Email), swap the API client in code, run dual-send for a verification window, and update DNS to point all sending traffic to Resend. Most production migrations take 1-2 weeks end to end.
What's the difference between Resend, SendGrid, and Postmark?
Resend is a React-template developer-first email API from 2023 with 3,000 free emails/month and $20/month for 50K. SendGrid is the high-scale market leader from 2009 (Twilio) with marketing plus transactional from $19.95/month. Postmark is the deliverability specialist from 2010 (ActiveCampaign) for transactional-only at $15/month for 10K.
Twilio vs SendGrid: which messaging platform should you use?
Twilio is a messaging and voice platform focused on SMS, WhatsApp, voice calls, and programmable communications; SendGrid (a Twilio subsidiary) focuses on transactional and marketing email. They are complementary rather than competitive: use Twilio for SMS, voice, and WhatsApp; use SendGrid for email. Many teams use both through the unified Twilio platform.
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Resend vs SendGrid vs Postmark 2026: Email API Compared
Resend (2023) is a React-template developer-first email API with 3,000 free emails/month and $20/month for 50K. SendGrid (2009, Twilio) is the high-scale market leader with marketing plus transactional at $19.95/month entry. Postmark (2010, ActiveCampaign) is the deliverability specialist for transactional-only at $15/month for 10K. This 2026 three-way comparison covers DX, deliverability, pricing, and feature breadth.
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