14 Best SendGrid Alternatives for High-Volume Emails

Businesses and developers have long relied on SendGrid for their transactional email infrastructure to send transactional emails, but eventually many start taking a closer look at alternative solutions. 

SendGrid is known for its extensive features and diverse customer base. However, businesses are looking for improvements in pricing, speed, deliverability, and security. 

This article explores the 14 best alternatives to SendGrid, ensuring you get an affordable alternative suitable for your needs without compromising on features SendGrid is known for. 

Let’s start with what SendGrid offers and where SendGrid competitors stand out.

Top Alternatives To SendGrid

Platform	Free Options	Best For	Stands Out For	Starting Price
UniOne	Free Trial	Developers, small to medium-sized businesses, and large enterprises.	Instant event notifications, webhooks, AI-powered HTML editor, Click &  Unsubscribe tracking, 45 days of log retention, 100 days of analytics data storage.	$6 / month for 10,000 emails.
Amazon SES	Free Trial	Developers, businesses, large enterprises, and startups.	Integration with AWS services, robust API, and pay-per-use pricing.	$0.10 / 1000 emails pay-as-you-go.
Postmark	Free Trial	Developers, small to medium-sized businesses, and enterprises.	Event-triggered actions, SMTP & API integration, and detailed email analytics.	$15 / month for 10,000 emails.
Mailchimp	Free Demo	E-commerce, Small to medium-sized businesses.	Email marketing automation, landing page builder, CRM integration.	$9.27 / month for 5,000 emails.
SMTP2Go	Free Plan	E-commerce, SaaS companies, developers.	Dedicated IP addresses, advanced email routing, API integration.	$10 / month for 10,000 emails.
MailerSend	Free Plan	Small-to-medium sized businesses.	API-driven service, detailed analytics, webhooks, and SMTP relay.	$28 / month for 50,000 emails.
Mailjet	Free Plan	Marketing professionals, and small businesses.	Drag-and-drop email editor, A/B testing, and list segmentation.	$17 / month for 15,000 emails.
Mailgun	Free Trial	Developers, businesses, and SaaS companies.	Advanced email analytics, flexible email tagging, and RESTful API.	$15 / month for 10,000 emails.
Elastic Email	Free Trial	Small to medium-sized businesses, and marketers.	Suppressions management, unlimited subaccounts with custom settings.	$49 / month for 37,500 emails.
ZeptoMail (By Zoho)	1 Free Credit Equivalent to 10,000 Emails	Developers, small to medium-sized businesses.	Email API, SMTP relay, detailed reports, and IP whitelisting.	$2.50 / 10,000 transactional emails.
Mailtrap	Free Plan	E-commerce, small-to-medium sized businesses.	Sandboxed testing environment, detailed email analysis, and integration capabilities.	$15 / month for 10,000 emails.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)	Free Plan	Small-to-medium sized businesses, SaaS companies.	Email automation, customizable CRM functionalities.	$9 / month for 5,000 emails.
SendPulse	Free Plan	Marketers, small-to-medium sized businesses.	AI-powered segmentation, personalization, automation, and integration with various platforms.	$7.08 / month for 25,000 emails.
Sparkpost	Free Test Plan	Saas Companies, Businesses, and developers.	Custom domain tracking, Signal Analytics, Events, and Webhooks.	$20 / month for 50,000 emails.

What Is SendGrid?

Twilio SendGrid is a cloud-based email delivery system and marketing platform equipped with tools to deliver and manage business messages effectively. 

Companies use SendGrid to send a variety of emails such as:

• Transactional emails: Welcome email, user invitation email, password resets, order confirmations, shipping notifications.
• Marketing emails: Newsletters, promotional offers & sales, customer surveys.

Why Are People Switching From SendGrid?

Reason #1: Pricey

SendGrid is pricey and it gets pricier as your email volume grows. 

Transactional Emails: The basic plan starts at $19.95 per month, but essential features like dedicated IP addresses are only available with higher-tier plans starting at $89.95 per month.

Marketing Campaigns: While there's a free plan for up to 100 contacts and 6,000 emails, paid plans begin at $15 per month.

Reason #2: Limited free plan

SendGrid free plan includes only 100 transactional emails per day.

Reason #3: Unreliable Two-Factor Authentication

SendGrid users have reported frequent problems with two-factor authentication, preventing users from logging into their accounts.

*The above reasons were taken from public online reviews of SendGrid users.

 

Other Reported SendGrid Disadvantages

• Potential deliverability issues and reliance on dedicated IPs for resolution.
• Customer support concerns, particularly following an acquisition by Twilio.
• Limited email history and additional costs for premium features.

UniOne – Best Affordable SendGrid Alternative With Powerful Features

Pricing

Free Plan

Duration: 4 months

Email allowance: 6,000 emails per month.

Paid Plans

Paid plans are based on the number of emails sent per month:

• $6/month: 10,000 emails.
• $11/month: 20,000 emails.
• $25/month: 50,000 emails.

*Pricing information retrieved from UniOne in August 2024.

 

Note: UniOne handles email volumes of up to 60 million emails per hour, allowing you to scale up seamlessly as your email volume grows.

UniOne stands out as a premier transactional email service and a powerful alternative to SendGrid – supporting businesses of all sizes with its robust yet affordable and reliable solution for managing critical email communications. 

UniOne maintains an exceptional 99.88% email deliverability rate, ensuring your essential messages reach their intended recipients consistently. 

Opening an account with UniOne is a breeze. Where SendGrid requires you to go through a cumbersome registration process, UniOne gets you up and running quickly, and hassle-free. 

The intuitive interface makes it super-easy to send transactional emails with precision and control. 

Best of all, users don't have to wait weeks for support (which sometimes happens with SendGrid) or run around in circles with automated bots. The friendly support team at UniOne guides each user through the process and addresses any concerns they may have promptly.

UniOne’s advanced infrastructure combined with a deep understanding of email deliverability, helps them consistently outperform competitors widely criticized for inconsistent performance.

For starters on a tight budget, UniOne offers a free plan that allows users to send 6,000 emails/month for 4 months making it the best free SendGrid alternative.

 

Try Unione Free → 

Pros

• High deliverability rates: UniOne ensures your emails reach your recipients' inboxes.
• Free trial: Try UniOne for free before committing to a paid plan.
• Advanced Anti-spam measures: UniOne employs advanced technology to protect the sender's reputation and prevent transactional emails from being flagged as spam.
• State-of-the-art SMTP API: You can integrate with any CMS, CDP, or CRM system through a robust API
• Pre-designed templates: UniOne features a range of pre-designed templates to help you create professional-looking emails.
• Detailed analytics: Get insights into your email campaigns, track your performance and make improvements.
• Friendly customer service: The dedicated customer support team is available 24/7 to help you with any questions or issues.
• Scalable: UniOne grows with your business, so you can handle increasing email volumes.

Cons

• No SMS integration: UniOne focuses on transactional email delivery alone, which excludes SMS delivery. 
• Limited data storage: Extended data storage can be purchased on request.
• Limited templates: Although UniOne offers 40+ templates, they may not suit all business needs.  

Amazon SES – Cheapest SendGrid Alternative With Dedicated IP Addresses

Pricing

Free Plan

With Amazon EC2-hosted applications, users receive 3,000 free messages per month.

Paid Plans 

With pay-as-you-go pricing, non-EC2 applications usually cost $0.10 per 1,000 emails and $0.12 per GB of email attachments.

• $1 for 10,000 emails.
• $30 for 300,000 emails. 
• $100 for 1 million emails. 

*Pricing information retrieved from Amazon SES in August 2024.

 

Note: Amazon SES pricing varies by location. Additionally, the setup of your email accounts and hosting infrastructure can affect the overall cost.

Amazon SES (Simple Email Service) is a cloud-based email service powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) with one key appeal: it's incredibly cheap for both transactional and marketing emails. Ideal if you're already using AWS infrastructure and EC2. 

Major companies like Reddit, Netflix, and Duolingo are long-term users of Amazon SES, mainly due to its core metrics and scalability. Moreover, the SES services are independent of other AWS services and can be used on their own. 

Pros

• Cost-Effective: With a pay-as-you-go pricing plan and no upfront costs, SES is affordable for businesses of all sizes.
• High Deliverability: SES comes with domain and IP warm-up, dedicated IP addresses, and best practices compliance to ensure high deliverability rates.
• Integration with AWS Services: SES seamlessly integrates with other AWS services like AWS Lambda, Amazon S3, and Amazon SNS, making it more functional and automating workflows.
• Security: DKIM and SPF-compatible authentication mechanisms and encryption of data in transit and at rest ensure secure email exchanges.

Cons

• Limited Features: Amazon SES has limited features for email campaigns, like segmentation, automation, and A/B testing, as compared to other tools.
• Technical Expertise Required: The setup and management require technical expertise, which is challenging for non-technical users.
• Limited Customer Support: SES offers minimal customer support, requiring users to resolve issues on their own. Additional support comes at an extra cost.
• Time-Consuming Setup: Configuring basic features like tracking and monitoring takes considerable time and effort.
• Free Emails Only for Amazon Services Clients: The free email option is only available for Amazon services clients. Everyone else has to go directly into a paid plan.

Postmark – Best SendGrid Alternative For Detailed Analytics

Pricing

Free Plan

• 100 emails/month: Ideal for testing the service or small-scale usage.

Paid Plans

• $15/month for 10,000 emails.
• $33/month for 20,000 emails.
• $55/month for 50,000 emails.

 

*Pricing information retrieved from Postmark in August 2024.

 

Postmark is another SendGrid competitor powered by ActiveCampaign that allows users to send bulk transactional emails, making it ideal for SaaS platforms and tech startups. 

Known for speedy email delivery – Postmark promises to deliver 99% of your emails within 10 seconds as all transactional emails are delivered via a separate channel. 

They achieve high deliverability through a variety of measures such as dedicated IP addresses, rigorous sender screening, and proactive monitoring.

Pros

• ActiveCampaign Compatibility: Seamlessly integrate Postmark with ActiveCampaign to automate your email marketing efforts.
• User-friendly UI: Postmark’s user-friendly interface makes campaign setup and management an absolute breeze for both technical and non-tech individuals. 
• Performance Insights: See how your emails are performing with detailed delivery tracking.

Cons

• High Pricing: The cost of Postmark is high as compared to the value offered, especially for small businesses.
• Limited Payment Options: The lack of annual payment plans and additional fees for non-sterling transactions can be inconvenient.
• Latency Issues: Users may experience a delay in email delivery.
• Inconsistent Status Reporting: Service disruptions are not always accurately reported on the status page.

ZeptoMail (By Zoho) – Low-Cost SendGrid Alternative With Strong Deliverability

Pricing

Free Plan

There is no free forever plan, but it offers 10,000 free transactional emails.

Paid Plans

• $2.50: for 1 email credit, each credit is valid for 10,000 emails. 
• $5: for 20,000 emails. 
• $7.50: for 30,000 emails that are valid for 3 months. 

*Pricing information retrieved from ZeptoMail in August 2024.

 

ZeptoMail by Zoho is the cheapest SendGrid alternative yet with better support. All of its plans (including the free one) have 24/7 email and phone support, making it one of the best ESPs for transactional email. 

Primarily built to send and receive high volumes of emails with reliable delivery rates, ZeptoMail simplifies transactional communication between businesses and consumers. 

A service to rely upon, ZeptoMail is used by more than 2.5k organizations and 55 Zoho applications, sending 250 million emails per month on average.

Pros

• Detailed Analytics: Provides detailed logs and reports to assist users with email performance and troubleshooting.
• Scalability: ZeptoMail can easily handle high volumes of emails.
• SMTP Relay Support: Supports SMTP relay, allowing businesses to send emails through Zoho's servers.

Cons

• Long Learning Curve: There may be a longer learning curve for users unfamiliar with transactional email services.
• Dependency on Zoho Ecosystem: Businesses using products other than Zoho might find integration difficult.
• Feature Set Limitations: While ZeptoMail meets the basic needs for transactional emails, it lacks features common to other platforms.
• Support Limitations: Support access varies by pricing plan, potentially impacting response times and the efficiency of technical support.
• Regional Availability: Businesses operating globally may face regional restrictions on certain features and services.

SMTP2Go – SendGrid Alternative With Easy Setup

Pricing

Free Plan

• Email limit: 1,000 emails per month   
• Reporting: 5 days of email reporting
• Support: Ticket support only

Paid Plans

• $10/month: for up to 10,000 emails.
• $75/month: for up to 100,000 emails. 

*Pricing information retrieved from SMTP2GO in August 2024.

 

SMTP2GO is another reliable SendGrid alternative with SMTP bulk sending service and some added features that ensures high deliverability. A New Zealand-based SMTP and Email API provider, SMTP2Go is equipped with worldwide servers, real-time reports, and spam trap detection that many find useful. 

Furthermore, to speed up delivery, a server closest to the user is automatically selected. Overall, SMTP2GO is a good option for businesses that require a simple and reliable email delivery service.  

Pros

• Affordability: SMTP2GO has competitive pricing plans favored by businesses globally.
• Proactive spam prevention: Continuously monitors for potential spam issues and takes action to prevent them.
• Detailed performance insights for every email: Provides clear insights on email open rates, click-through rates, and other key metrics.
• Extensive Email testing across 40 clients: Guarantees your emails render as expected on all email client apps.

Cons

• Outdated Interface: The platform's design appears outdated by modern standards.
• Limited Activity History: Email performance can only be tracked for the last 30 days.
• Inconsistent 2FA: The "Do not ask for 2FA on this device" option reportedly lacks reliability.
• Unclear Pricing Tiers: The differences between free and paid plans could be explained with more clarity.
• Lack of Flexibility: Users with moderate email needs may benefit from a lower volume paid plan.
• Time Zone Inconsistencies: GMT reporting may not be convenient for all users.

Mailersend – Collaborative SendGrid Alternative for Efficient Workflows

Pricing

Free Plan

• 3,000 emails/month.

Paid Plans

• $28/month (starter): for up to 50,000 emails/month, 100 SMS per month, and 100 email verification credits. 
• $88/month (professional): for up to 50,000 emails/month, 150 SMS per month, and 400 email verification credits.

*Pricing information retrieved from Mailersend in August 2024.

 

MailerSend is a cloud-based transaction email service from MailerLite designed for non-techies and developers to work faster and smarter. Equipped with a powerful infrastructure that makes it effortless to send an email/sms or scale up quickly to send millions of them. 

In short, Mailersend has everything your team needs to build and automate an email workflow. 

Pros

• Email Verification: Remove inactive or invalid email addresses to ensure your email list is up-to-date and clean.
• Fast Approval Process: Start quickly with streamlined approvals.
• Competitive Pricing: Cost-effective plans make it accessible to businesses worldwide.
• Easy Integration: Golang library simplifies setup, allowing users to get started quickly.

Cons

• Domain Verification Delays: Domain verification takes time.
• Limited Integration: The platform is currently short of integration options.
• Email Deliverability Concerns: Some users report inconsistencies in email deliverability.
• Design Limitations: Limited customization options for email design.
• Lackluster Support: Customer support needs improvement in responsiveness and problem-solving. 

Mailjet – Best SendGrid Alternative With A Diverse Feature Set

Pricing

Free Plan

• Limited to 6,000 emails per month with a daily cap of 200 emails.

Paid Plans

• $17/month (essential): for up to 15,000 emails with no daily limit.
• $27/month (premium): Includes all Essential plan features plus advanced statistics, marketing automation, A/B testing, and more.

*Pricing information retrieved from Mailjet in August 2024.

 

Mailjet is a cloud-based platform designed to help businesses manage and send emails effectively. It simplifies the process of creating, sending, and tracking both marketing and transactional emails. Compared to SendGrid, Mailjet stands out for its user-friendly interface, collaborative tools, competitive pricing, robust API, and customization options.

Key features include a drag-and-drop email builder, real-time performance tracking, and dedicated workspaces for team collaboration. 

Pros 

• Diverse feature set: Offers multiple tools to meet varying business needs, from simple email creation to complex automation.
• Scalability: Mailjet can accommodate increased email volume and complexity.
• Automation capabilities: Automation features of the platform can improve efficiency and save time.

Cons

• Complex interface: The platform's complexity can lead to human errors.
• Contact management difficulties: Managing and segmenting contact lists can be cumbersome, potentially leading to email fatigue.
• Limited free plan: Compared to competitors like UniOne, Mailjet free plan offers less features and email quotas.
• Deliverability problems: Many users have reported issues with email deliverability due to French-based IPs.
• Ineffective support: Some users have experienced difficulties with customer support, receiving unhelpful or irrelevant responses.
• Slow response times: Live chat support is often slow, leading to frustration.
• Decreased value: Recent price adjustments have reduced the quotas, with a similar price offering less value.

Mailgun – Ideal SendGrid Alternative For Easy Workflow Automation

Pricing

Free Plan

• 100 emails/day with basic analytics, ticket support, and essential email-sending functionalities.

Paid Plans

• $15/month: for up to 10,000 emails.
• $35/month: for up to 50,000 emails.
• $90/month: for up to 100,000 emails.

*Pricing information retrieved from Mailgun in August 2024.

 

Mailgun is a cloud-based email delivery and API service available alongside Mailjet, both of which were acquired by Pathwire. Designed to simplify email management for developers and businesses, Mailgun features a robust system that helps you send, receive, and track emails more efficiently. A few useful deliverability testing tools are also available.

Pros

• Easy Integration: With its HTTP API and SMTP endpoint, it's easy to integrate it with diverse applications and platforms.
• Optimized Send Times: Mailgun schedules emails to deliver at the best time to maximize engagement.
• Dedicated IP Addresses: As compared to shared IP addresses, dedicated IP addresses are more reliable for email delivery and sender reputation.
• Detailed Insights: Webhooks can help you gather valuable insights into your target audiences.
• Collaborative Work: Mailgun allows multiple users to send emails collaboratively, making it ideal for teamwork.

Cons

• Steep Learning Curve: Mailgun’s user interface can be complex to navigate, especially for those without technical experience.
• Limited Log Retention: Logs are kept for a relatively short time, especially on lower-tier plans.
• Poor Customer Support: Users report long wait times and unhelpful interactions with customer service.
• Spam Association: Mailgun's flexibility has led to incidents with spammers and scammers.
• Time Zone Issues: The customer support team operates in US time zones, which can be inconvenient for users in other regions.
• Unresponsive Support: Users often experience delays or no response to support tickets.
• Lack of Transparency: Mailgun's validation process is opaque, resulting in potential overcharging.
• Cost Inefficiency: Users with high volumes may find the pricing model prohibitively expensive, with some valuable features locked behind higher tiers.

Elastic Email – Another low-cost SendGrid Alternative That Delivers Well

Pricing

Free Plan

Free plan available with 100 emails/day. 

Paid Plans

• $19/month: for up to 50,000 transactional emails.
• $29/month: for up to 2,500 contacts and 37,500 marketing emails.

*Pricing information retrieved from Elastic Email in August 2024.

 

Elastic is another low-cost SendGrid alternative that’s worth considering for its intuitive interface, powerful analytics, and quick delivery. A full-featured email marketing service that also includes a newsletter editor and ready-made templates to choose from. 

Email verification is one of the features that ensure high deliverability rates. Dedicated IP addresses with extra deliverability features like IP warm-up also make it a competitive option. 

Pros

• Budget-friendly: Elastic Email is notably cheaper than many of its competitors out there.
• Robust toolset: Offers a full suite of email marketing features, including, in-depth analytics, and a drag-and-drop email builder.
• Actionable insights: Provides detailed analytics to help understand email performance and make data-driven decisions.
• API integration: Offers a user-friendly API for seamless integration with other systems.

Cons

• Low deliverability rates: Some Elastic Email users report low deliverability rates causing many emails to end up in spam folders.
• Shared IP limitations: Sharing an IP with other clients can negatively impact email deliverability, especially for startups. Upgrading to a dedicated IP is an additional cost.
• Contact management: You may need to frequently clean up contact lists to control costs, which can be time-consuming.
• Customer support: Response times can be slow, impacting problem resolution and user satisfaction.
• Missing features in standard plan: The standard Email API plan lacks webhooks, a crucial feature for many.
• Email customization: The email builder lacks flexibility, with limited options for custom fields, personalization, and design templates.
• Time-based delivery: The platform doesn't support sending emails based on recipient time zones, limiting campaign optimization.
• Reputation management: The way email reputation is calculated is unclear, and it's easy to damage the reputation, leading to deliverability issues.

Mailtrap – Comprehensive SendGrid Alternative For All Email Needs

Pricing

Free Plan

Free plan available – 1,000 emails per month, with a daily limit of 200 emails.

Paid Plans

• $15/month: for up to 10,000 emails.
• $85/month: for up to 100,000 emails.
• $750/month: for up to 1,500,000 emails.

*Pricing information retrieved from Mailtrap in August 2024.

 

Mailtrap is another great SendGrid alternative for teams to test, send, and control email infrastructure efficiently with all the tools they need in one place. 

A major reason why this service has more than 150K active users is its intuitive interface that makes it simple to set up, configure, and monitor email campaigns.

Pros

• Dummy Inboxes: Mailtrap builds temporary, disposable inboxes where you can send test emails with no effect on your reputation.
• Automated Testing: Mailtrap tests and triggers email sequences to ensure they function as expected under various conditions. This automation saves time and improves efficiency.
• Detailed Analysis: Automated weekly reports by Mailtrap help users compare metrics and identify opportunities for improvement.

Cons

• Unpredictable Deliverability: Email delivery rates fluctuate often, with some emails eventually ending up in spam folders.
• Storage Constraints: Limited storage space limits the number of test emails you can save, making it difficult to track email performance over time.
• Cost and Accessibility: High-tier plans lack free trials, making it difficult for users to evaluate them before paying. Additionally, essential features like history logs are locked behind premium plans.
• Limited Features: Mailtrap currently lacks tools for marketing campaigns and inbox placement analysis that are crucial for optimizing email performance.
• Technical Focus: The platform is primarily designed for developers, which makes it less user-friendly for those without a technical background.

Brevo (Formerly Sendinblue) – Ideal SendGrid Alternative With CRM Features

Pricing

Free Plan

• Free plan available – 300 emails daily to a contact list of 100,000 people. 

Paid Plan

• $9/month: for up to 5,000 emails. 
• $18/month: for up to 5,000 emails plus multi-user access and phone support. 

*Pricing information retrieved from Brevo in August 2024.

 

Brevo is an excellent SendGrid alternative that deserves to be on the best transactional email service providers list. It is an all-in-one marketing solution bundled with robust transactional email capabilities for businesses searching for everything under one roof. 

With advanced features like email automation and A/B testing combined with competitive pricing, Brevo is a good option for businesses of all sizes.

Pros

• Free to start: You can test the platform without any financial commitment.
• E-commerce integration: Integrates seamlessly with popular e-commerce sites for targeted marketing campaigns.
• Automated emails: Allows sending transactional emails, such as order confirmations or password resets, automatically.
• Data-driven insights: Optimize campaigns with detailed email performance metrics.

Cons

• Pricing inflexibility: The volume-based pricing tiers can be restrictive, forcing users to pay for more emails than needed.
• Additional costs: Accessing premium features requires extra charges.
• IP limitations: Dedicated IP addresses, crucial for email deliverability, might need to be more readily available.
• Hidden features: Some essential features are hidden in the menu. 
• Design constraints: Email templates lack the customization options needed for unique campaigns.

SendPulse – Best SendGrid Alternative With Ample Basic Features In Free Plan

Pricing

Free Plan

Free plan available – 15,000 monthly emails for up to 500 subscribers.

Paid Plans

• $8/month: for up to 500 subscribers. 
• $12/month: for up to 1,000 subscribers. 
• $ 7,000 /month: for up to 5,000,000 subscribers. 

*Pricing information retrieved from SendPulse in August 2024.

 

SendPulse is another versatile SendGrid alternative with an impressive suite of tools for email marketing, SMS, chatbots, web push notifications, and more. The ecosystem is designed to help businesses engage with their audience across multiple channels and streamline their marketing efforts to boost engagement. This tool is a strong contender for digital communication upgrades considering its user-friendly interface and competitive pricing, 

Pros

• Cost-effective: SendPulse offers flexible pricing options, including a pay-as-you-go model, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes.
• User-friendly: The platform is designed with simplicity in mind, making it easy to navigate and use by anyone.
• Reliable email delivery: SendPulse boasts a strong track record of delivering emails effectively.

Cons

• Uncertain pricing: SendPulse pricing structure is complicated, especially SMS costs calculated based on character count rather than a simple per-message fee.
• Limited features: SendPulse lacks certain features, such as robust integration options and website publishing capabilities, found in many competitors.
• High costs: Although SendPulse offers cost-effective pricing, some users find the overall fees to be on the higher side.
• Poor customer support: Users have reported issues with customer support, including unhelpful and disrespectful interactions.
• Email deliverability issues: There have been instances of legitimate emails being blocked by SendPulse's spam filters, leading to the potential loss of customers.
• Account restrictions: SendPulse users have reported unexpected account restrictions without clear explanations, causing disruptions to their marketing campaigns.

Mailchimp Transactional (Formerly Mandrill) – Best SendGrid Alternative For Mailchimp Users

Pricing

Free Plan

No free plan, but new transactional email users can get up to 500 emails sends for free to their verified domain.

Paid Plan

• $20/block + regular Mailchimp Fee: for up to 10,000 emails/month.
• $240/block + regular Mailchimp Fee: for up to 300,000 emails/month.

*Pricing information retrieved from Mailchimp Transactional in August 2024.

 

Mailchimp Transactional Email (formerly Mandrill) is a popular tool that isn’t standalone.

It is a part of Mailchimp's product line dedicated to transactional email that helps businesses send highly contextual emails via SMTP or Web API. This tool is predominantly suitable for existing Mailchimp users due to its dependency on Mailchimp marketing platform subscription. 

Definitely not for you if you only need a transactional email delivery service, but if you do have a Mailchimp add-on, you can rely on it entirely.  

Pros

• Data-Driven Optimization: Provides detailed reporting and analytics to help you fine-tune your email campaigns.
• Personalized Experiences: Automate personalized emails based on customer behavior or preferences.
• Timely Communication: With event-triggered emails, important updates are delivered at the right time.
• Risk Mitigation: Test mode allows you to thoroughly test your email setup before going live, preventing potential issues.
• Continuous Improvement: A/B testing allows you to experiment with different email variations to identify the most effective one.

Cons

• Dependency: It's tied to the Mailchimp Marketing Platform, which limits its use to those having a marketing account at Mailchimp.
• High Cost: Compared to competitors, Mailchimp Transactional is pricier, especially for businesses with high email volumes.
• Outdated Interface: The user interface lacks sophistication and is not as user-friendly as modern platforms.
• Limited Free Plan: The free version offers very limited functionality.
• Support Issues: Users frequently report dissatisfaction with customer support, citing slow response times and unhelpful interactions.
• Lack of Integrations: Lack of a built-in CRM system complicates data management and customer relationship building.
• Steep Learning Curve: Hard to navigate, especially for those new to email marketing.

Bird (Formerly SparkPost, MessageBird) – A Comprehensive SendGrid Alternative

Pricing

Free Plan

Email Bird offers a Test plan. 

Paid Plans

• $45/month: for up to 30,000 emails/SMS/WhatsApp messages.
• Customized pricing if you have more than 50,000 contacts.

*Pricing information retrieved from MessageBird in August 2024.

 

Bird (formerly SparkPost, MessageBird) is another robust SendGrid alternative that claims to capture 40% of all B2B and B2C email. Designed to help enterprises with high delivery volumes grow cost-efficiently, Bird offers everything from personalized email, SMS, and WhatsApp interactions, to AI-powered personalization, intuitive ticket management, and seamless payments. With CRM features such as marketing, services, and payment processing aimed at enterprises with high delivery volumes, MessageBird is an ideal solution for any business with high standards and policies. 

Pros

• Comprehensive feature set: As a successor to both MessageBird and SparkPost, Bird offers multiple communication channels including email, SMS, and WhatsApp. This versatility makes it a go-to solution for businesses.
• Compliance and security: Built on the legacy of MessageBird, Bird excels in meeting the needs of industries with strict regulations. 
• In-depth guidance: Bird offers detailed documentation to help users navigate its complex features. 
• Enterprise-focused: Designed with large organizations in mind, Bird provides scalability, reliability, and support needed to handle high-volume communication needs.

Cons

• Difficult to adopt for smaller businesses: Aimed specifically at large corporations, Bird is too complicated and expensive for smaller businesses.
• Customer support concerns: Businesses seeking timely assistance often report inconsistent customer support experiences.
• Enterprise-centric focus: Bird caters well to large enterprises, but ignores the specific needs of smaller businesses, leading to inefficiency.

Conclusion

Don't let email deliverability issues or exorbitant costs hinder your business growth. Partner today with an email service that shares your vision and remains by your side until your objectives are met. 

All of the SendGrid alternatives reviewed here offer compelling advantages in terms of pricing, features, and performance. Free trials, on the other hand, are valuable for testing the service before committing to it long-term and assessing its scalability. UniOne, with its excellent support, extremely affordable plans, and robust features, stands out as a top option for businesses seeking the perfect combination of value and advanced functionality.

Ready to make the switch? Give this SendGrid alternative a try. 

Try UniOne Free → 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the limitations of SendGrid?

Having too many user-defined categories can slow down the user interface, so each user is limited to 100 categories.  

4 better competitors than SendGrid?

Choosing the best alternative depends on your specific needs, but here are four able contenders: 

1. UniOne: Competes well with SendGrid for its inexpensive plans, reliable delivery, intuitive interface, and friendly customer service.
2. Amazon SES: If you're already using AWS, Amazon SES can be a cost-effective option with high scalability.
3. Postmark: Known for its excellent deliverability and performance, Postmark is a reliable email platform for transactional emails.
4. Mailgun: A good balance of features and pricing, with a flexible platform and strong API support. 

Does SendGrid have an alternative that offers a decent free plan?

Yes, there are several SendGrid alternatives with generous free plans. One such option is UniOne, which offers a free plan that includes 6,000 emails per month for 4 months.