Resend or SendGrid: which should you pick?

Developer-first API vs high-volume incumbent. Free plans, pricing basis, automation and transactional email from each vendor's pricing page, plus who should pick which.

Resend free emails: 3,000/mo; Resend free emails
SendGrid free plan: 60-day trial; SendGrid free plan
Lumail free emails: 3,000/mo; Lumail free emails

TL;DR

Resend has a real free tier (3,000 transactional emails a month) and a developer-first API with React Email. SendGrid has only a 60-day trial, with the Email API from $19.95 a month. SendGrid is the pick for high volume with dedicated IPs, subusers and Twilio channels. Both split transactional and marketing into separate plans.

Resend vs SendGrid side by side

Every Resend and SendGrid cell comes from the vendor's public pricing page, verified on August 17, 2026. Lumail is the third column, as the alternative.

Resend vs SendGrid comparison with Lumail
	Resend	SendGrid	Lumail (alternative)
Free plan	3,000 emails/month for transactional, or 1,000 marketing contacts	No free plan; 60-day trial with 100 emails/day	$0, 3,000 emails/month
Paid from	$20/month transactional; $40/month marketing	Marketing from $15/month; Email API from $19.95/month	$20/month, 40,000 included, then $0.60/1,000
Pricing basis	Separate transactional volume and marketing contact plans	Two separate subscriptions: the API priced by volume, Marketing by contacts	Unlimited subscribers; pricing follows email volume
Automation	10,000 automation runs included; usage overage on paid plans	Welcome and drip series on Marketing Campaigns Advanced, from $60/month	Graph workflows with triggers, branches, goals, exits, and A/B paths
AI and developer access	Developer API, SDKs, and AI-oriented documentation	Read-only Twilio docs MCP; REST API and official SDKs	ChatGPT OAuth, MCP, skills, CLI, SDK, REST API, and visual editor
Transactional email	Core product with REST API and SMTP	Core product, via REST API or SMTP	Included through API, SMTP, SDK, CLI, and agent tools
Publishing	Broadcasts and contacts, not a hosted newsletter publication	Single sends with drag-and-drop and code editors, plus signup forms	Capture pages and custom web domains; not a general website builder
Best for	Developers prioritizing transactional delivery and API ergonomics	Engineering teams that need high-volume email through API or SMTP	Teams that want campaigns, workflows and transactional email priced by volume

Choose Resend if

You want a free tier of 3,000 transactional emails a month
Resend's SDKs and React Email fit your stack
You want automation runs included with marketing

Choose SendGrid if

High-volume transactional delivery is the main job
You need dedicated IPs, subusers and IP pools
You already use Twilio for SMS, WhatsApp or voice

Where Lumail fits

Both sell transactional and marketing as separate subscriptions. Lumail puts transactional API, SMTP, campaigns and workflows on one plan priced by emails sent.

Lumail prices by emails sent, with unlimited subscribers on every plan: $0 for 3,000 emails a month, Premium at $20 a month for 40,000 emails then $0.60 per 1,000, and Business at $200 a month for 400,000 emails then $0.40 per 1,000. Campaigns, graph workflows and transactional email (API and SMTP) live in one account, and agents can run it through MCP, the CLI or the SDK.

Read the full Lumail vs Resend and Lumail vs SendGrid breakdowns, or the long-form Resend and SendGrid articles.

Start for free See Lumail pricing

Sources

Resend pricing, verified on August 17, 2026
Twilio SendGrid Email API pricing, verified on August 17, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Does SendGrid have a free plan?

No. SendGrid offers a 60-day trial with 100 emails a day. Resend's free tier is 3,000 transactional emails a month, or 1,000 marketing contacts.

How do Resend and SendGrid price paid plans?

Resend is $20 a month for transactional and $40 a month for marketing. SendGrid's Email API starts at $19.95 a month and Marketing Campaigns at $15.

Do Resend and SendGrid include transactional email?

Resend: Core product with REST API and SMTP. SendGrid: Core product, via REST API or SMTP.

Is there an alternative to Resend and SendGrid that prices by emails sent?

Lumail. It is $0 for 3,000 emails a month, then $20 a month for 40,000 emails and $0.60 per extra 1,000, with unlimited subscribers on every plan. Campaigns, workflows and transactional email share one account.

Where do these numbers come from?

From each vendor's public pricing page (Resend pricing and Twilio SendGrid Email API pricing), last verified on August 17, 2026. Prices change, so confirm on the vendor's page before you buy.

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3,000 emails a month free. Unlimited subscribers on every plan. Campaigns, automations and transactional email on one domain.

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