The short answer
- Under 3,000 emails a month and never over 100 a day? Resend's free plan doesn't expire: a modeled first-year saving of $228 against Resend Pro, or $189 against SendGrid Essentials. the math
- SendGrid's free option is a 60-day trial, not a free plan. twilio.com
- At volume, Amazon SES is the cheapest per email in the catalog: $0.10 per 1,000 with no minimum fee, so 100,000 a month cost $10/mo. aws.amazon.com
- Around 100,000 a month, compare Resend's Pro 100k tier at $35/mo with SendGrid Essentials 100k at $34.95/mo. resend.com
Who should switch, and who shouldn't
Switch if
- You send transactional email through the API and use a custom domain with DKIM, not much more. recipe
- Your volume stays under 3,000 a month and 100 a day. resend.com
- You're on SendGrid's trial and want a free plan that doesn't expire. twilio.com
Stay if
- You rely on inbound email, webhooks and events, templates or marketing broadcasts. recipe
- You need dedicated IPs, subusers or SSO: SendGrid Pro includes them. twilio.com
- Your volume spikes: Resend's free plan has no pay-as-you-go, so a busy day stops at the cap. resend.com
What Resend and SendGrid cost today
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, as stored in the Stackcut catalog. Each price links its source.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resend Pro | $20/mo | not shown | 50,000 emails/mo, no daily limit, 10 domains, 5 webhook endpoints; overage $0.90 per 1,000 |
| Resend Pro 100k | $35/mo | not shown | 100,000 emails/mo, 10 domains; overage $0.90 per 1,000 |
| Resend Scale | $90/mo | not shown | 100,000 emails/mo, 1,000 domains, 10 webhook endpoints; overage $0.90 per 1,000; SSO and dedicated IP add-ons |
| SendGrid (Twilio) Essentials | $19.95/mo | not shown | Essentials 50K: 50,000 emails/mo; overage $0.0013 per email; 1 additional teammate |
| SendGrid (Twilio) Essentials 100k | $34.95/mo | not shown | 100,000 emails/mo; overage $0.0009 per email |
| SendGrid (Twilio) Pro | $89.95/mo | not shown | Pro 100K: 100,000 emails/mo; overage $0.0011 per email; dedicated IPs, subusers, SSO |
The alternatives, ranked
2 ways out, ranked by modeled saving in the first year after setup and upkeep (2 priced). Modeled, not measured: each figure links the math on the recipe page.
- The recipes model 1 sender against Resend Pro and SendGrid Essentials; both land on Resend's free plan, which only fits low volume. recipe
What transactional email costs from 3,000 to 300,000 a month
The cheapest published plan for each provider at each volume, including published overage. Free plans count only if they're really free: no trials, no expiring credits.
| Emails a month | 3,000 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 100,000 | 300,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resend today | $0Free, 100/day cap | $20Pro | $20Pro | $35Pro 100k | $215Pro 100k, plus overage |
| SendGrid (Twilio) todayfree option is a 60-day trial | $19.95Essentials | $19.95Essentials | $19.95Essentials | $34.95Essentials 100k | $214.95Essentials 100k, plus overage |
| Postmark | $15Basic | $15Basic | $66Platform, plus overage | $126Platform, plus overage | $366Platform, plus overage |
| Mailgun | $0Free, 100/day cap | $15Basic | $35Foundation | $90Scale | $310Scale, plus overage |
| Amazon SESpay per email; attachments extra | $0.30Pay as you go | $1Pay as you go | $5Pay as you go | $10Pay as you go | $30Pay as you go |
- Postmark's page shows only its 10,000-email step, so above that the catalog prices extra emails at the published overage; check its slider for volume tiers. postmarkapp.com
- Mailgun's overage rates are the published 'from' rates at the entry volume. mailgun.com
How to leave Resend and SendGrid
Export first, then cancel. Every step links the vendor's own help page, checked on the date shown.
- Add the new provider's DNS records for your sending domain first, switch the API key in your app, watch a day of sends, then cancel. recipe
How to leave Resend
Export first
- No export path documented yet.
Cancel
- Point your app at the new provider and check that mail arrives before you cancel.
- Billing page → the ⋯ menu next to your plan → Cancel Subscription.
- Refunds
- Paid subscription fees are non-refundable, except where the law requires otherwise.
How to leave SendGrid
Export first
- No export path documented yet.
What you lose
- Sending from the account, from the first of the next month
Cancel
- Point your app at the new provider and check that mail arrives before you cancel.
- Twilio Console → Settings → Account Details → Your Products → find the subscription → Cancel Subscription → confirm.
- Legacy SendGrid accounts: Account Details → Your Products → Cancel Subscription.
- Takes effect
- The plan works until the end of the month. From the first day of the next month the account moves to End of Trial, which can't send email.
Not covered by the paths above, per the recipe: Receive email (inbound), Webhooks and events, React Email templates, Broadcasts/marketing emails, Logs, Templates, Deliverability insights, Marketing campaigns, Dedicated IP. If you rely on one of these, keep the incumbent or check the path closely.
FAQ
How do I cancel Resend?
Billing page → the ⋯ menu next to your plan → Cancel Subscription. Paid subscription fees are non-refundable, except where the law requires otherwise. resend.com
How do I cancel SendGrid?
Twilio Console → Settings → Account Details → Your Products → Cancel Subscription. The plan works until the end of the month; from the first of the next month the account can't send email. support.sendgrid.com
Is Amazon SES really that cheap?
A la carte it's $0.10 per 1,000 emails with no minimum, plus $0.12 per GB of attachments. New AWS accounts get free-tier credits, not an always-free SES allowance. aws.amazon.com
Which free plan is really free?
Resend's: 3,000 emails/mo, 100 emails/day, 3 domains, 30-day data retention; no pay-as-you-go on Free. resend.com
Mailgun's free plan allows 100 emails a day on 1 custom sending domain. mailgun.com
SendGrid's free option is a 60-day trial. twilio.com
Keep reading
- Transactional email for a startup: what it costs from 3,000 to 300,000 emails a month
- Mailchimp alternatives in 2026: what to use instead, and what it really costs
- Supabase alternatives in 2026: what to use instead, and what it really costs
- Recipe: Transactional email API
- Recipe: Transactional email API
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Connect the Stackcut MCP server (https://stackcut.io/mcp, no API key) and ask: “We send about 40,000 transactional emails a month on SendGrid Essentials. Is there a cheaper way?”
choose_stack({"project": "SaaS app", "needs": [
{"job": "email_transactional", "volume": {"amount": 40000, "unit": "emails_per_month"}}]})