The Best SendGrid Alternatives [2025]

To make the best of your email strategies, you need a robust platform that can help you manage bulk emails and customer interactions. While there are so many of these platforms online, only a few email platforms like SendGrid actually do the job. This explains why it is a popular choice in the market, with leading brands like Uber and Sportify using their services. 

Even though SendGrid does a fine job, it’s not without a few limitations. Starting with the most obvious, for small businesses that don’t measure up to Uber’s annual income, it might be too pricey. Besides, it may not have all the features that some users may need. 

If you are not sure if SendGrid is what your business needs right now, there are alternatives. Some of the alternatives you will see in this guide offer a blend of more functionality with an even cheaper subscription.

Mailchimp vs. SendGrid

With over 300 integration tools, a delivery rate that they claim is about 99%, and a large userbase of about 11 million, it’s safe to say that Mailchimp is one of the biggest SendGrid competitors. It is a comprehensive tool that helps businesses reach their customers and build loyalty through emails. 

All-in-one platform for marketing and transactional emails

If you’re already using Mailchimp for marketing tasks, or you plan to do so in the future, it might be a good SendGrid alternative to consider. It offers you an integrated platform where you can conveniently manage your email campaigns and transactional emails simultaneously.

Enhanced analytics and custom dashboards 

In terms of analytics, Mailchimp may be considered better than SendGrid, as it offers detailed analytics with customizable dashboards. With this, you get deeper insights into your email performance compared to SendGrid’s simple reporting tools.

Personalized emails with dynamic content

Mailchimp takes personalization to a new level with its merge tags and conditional content. With merge tags, you can insert recipient-specific details like names or order information automatically into your emails. Conditional content, on the other hand, lets you send segmented messages based on criteria such as purchase history or location. 

User reviews 

Mailchimp has a 4.5 rating on Capterra and a 4.4 rating on G2. On both platforms, users praise the tool for its ease of use and features. However, some users think the tool might be too expensive and may have a bit of a learning curve. 

Pricing 

Mailchimp provides tiered plans:

• Free: Supports up to 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly sends with basic tools.
• Essentials: Starts at $13/month, scaling based on the number of contacts.
• Standard: From $20/month with advanced automations and insights for 500 contacts.
• Premium: Begins at $350/month for businesses with larger lists and advanced needs​.

Brevo vs. SendGrid

Like Mailchimp, Brevo is an all-inclusive platform for email marketing, automation, and even WhatsApp messaging. Brevo also supports e-commerce integration with plugins for platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, ensuring seamless automation and tracking for transactional communications.

Unified communication channels

Like Mailchimp, Brevo offers you a comprehensive approach to communication. However, it takes things a step further by SMS and WhatsApp messaging in addition to emails. This means, if you choose it as a SendGrid alternative, you can engage customers across multiple channels. In contrast, SendGrid primarily focuses on email, limiting its scope for multi-channel communication.

Advanced marketing automation

People needing more complex workflows for campaign planning might find SendGrid’s automation features a little bit too basic. However, Brevo offers more powerful automation tools that allow users to create complex workflows with if/else conditions. With this powerful tool, you can enable complex actions like updating contact attributes and triggering specific messages based on customer behavior.

Confirmations/Reminders

The Brevo platform allows businesses to easily create personalized confirmation emails and reminders, which are very important in transactional emails. You can customize the triggers for these emails so they are sent when a customer performs a particular action like completing a purchase or scheduling an appointment. 

SendGrid has something similar. However, since there is no support for SMS or other messaging channels, it may not be as versatile as Brevo.

User reviews 

Brevo has ratings of 4.5 and 4.3 on G2 and Trustpilot, respectively. It is celebrated for its affordability, especially for smaller businesses, and its all-in-one marketing solutions. On both platforms, many customers seem to be dissatisfied with the quality of customer support Brevo offers. 

Pricing 

Brevo’s pricing is send-based:

• Free: Includes 300 emails daily and unlimited contacts.
• Starter: Starts at $8.08/month for 5,000 emails.
• Business: From $16.17/month for advanced marketing tools and email analytics.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for high-volume senders and advanced needs​.

Mailgun vs. SendGrid

Mailgun is another popular option you can use in place of SendGrid. The tool is mainly made for developers and businesses working with other businesses (B2B). Like SendGrid, it uses APIs to work and is often added to other apps as a behind-the-scenes service with no branding. Besides sending emails, it provides tools for improving email delivery, checking inbox placement, verifying email addresses, and even sending transactional SMS messages.

Advanced deliverability features

Mailgun is particularly designed to ensure your emails reach their intended recipients. It comes with features like inbox placement testing to help you understand where your emails land (inbox, spam, or promotions). It also has machine learning-powered send-time optimization tools that ensure your emails are sent at the best times for engagement. 

With all these, Mailgun promises a 97.4% delivery rate. SendGrid offers similar tools but with a slightly lower delivery rate of 97%. So, if you are focused on deliverability and precision, Mailgun might be the SendGrid alternative for you.

Email testing 

SendGrid makes email testing easier and offers several useful features, but at a price. The number of tests you can run is limited by the amount of test credits you have. When exhausted, you need to pay more. 

Mailgun takes a different and better approach. Even though its features aren’t exactly as extensive as what SendGrid has, you are not limited by test credits. With the tool, you can validate email addresses and keep your email list clean, which explains why they have a slightly higher deliverability. 

Flexible pricing

Mailgun’s pay-as-you-go pricing model is ideal for businesses with fluctuating email volumes. This approach lets you send extra emails as needed without committing to a more expensive plan, providing cost efficiency for growing companies. 

SendGrid, on the other hand, often requires users to upgrade to higher-tier plans when they exceed their email limit. If you have periods when you send more emails, like during promotions, Mailgun might be a more cost-effective alternative. 

User reviews

Mailgun has a 4.2 rating on Trustpilot and 4.2 on G2. Users praise its reliability, seamless API integration, and user-friendly interface. Many find its email delivery effective and affordable compared to competitors. However, some users mention payment issues with credit cards and PayPal on the platform. 

Pricing 

Mailgun offers flexible pricing based on features and usage:

• Pilot: $49/month after a free first month. Includes 2,500 email validations, 25 inbox placement tests, and 500 email previews. Overages cost $0.10 per email and $1.20 for every 100 additional validations.
• Starter: $99/month after the first free month. Offers 5,000 validations, 50 placement tests, 1,000 previews, and additional features like spam trap monitoring.
• Custom: Tailored pricing for larger enterprises​.

AWeber vs. SendGrid

AWeber is an email marketing and automation platform designed to help businesses create and manage email campaigns, newsletters, and marketing automations. As an alternative to SendGrid, it shines in its ease of use, drag-and-drop email editor, and customer support.

While SendGrid might appeal to developers and technically inclined users, AWeber presents itself as a DIY tool that makes it easy for anyone to run marketing campaigns. As such, it might be the perfect SendGrid alternative for companies that cannot afford employing extra technical hands.  

Simplicity 

AWeber is not as sophisticated as SendGrid, but perhaps that is the secret selling point behind the tool. With AWeber, you can create email campaigns without understanding what an API is or how it is used. It provides a user-friendly interface for designing and launching email campaigns with drag-and-drop editors. 

Design focus

AWeber integrates with a wide range of third-party platforms, including e-commerce systems, CRMs, and Canva. Its integration with Canva is a particularly important mention because this means you can create emails with stunning visuals with Canva’s library using the tool. Plus, the tool has a range of free images and email templates that you can use for free. 

Customer support

Another area where AWeber shines is its customer service. It offers strong customer support through live chat, email, and phone. Unlike every other tool on the list, their customer support is available to everyone, irrespective of whether you are on a free or paid plan. And you get access to a human, not some article or chat bot. So, if you need hands-on help with your email marketing or you are looking for free SendGrid alternatives, this might be a great option.

User reviews 

AWeber holds a 4.4 rating on Capterra and 4.2 on G2. Many people on both platforms think it has straightforward email automation and excellent customer service. Some people also mention that it has many tools that small businesses will find valuable. On the downside, users feel it becomes too expensive as your subscriber base increases. 

Pricing 

AWeber’s pricing depends on your subscriber count:

• Free: Supports up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails per month.
• Lite: Starts at $12.50/month for up to 500 subscribers, increasing as the subscriber base grows. Offers unlimited email sends, advanced automation, and integrations​.
• Plus: Starts at $20/month for up to 500 subscribers, increasing as the subscriber base grows. Offers unlimited automations, advanced insights, and priority 24/7 support.
• Unlimited: An all-inclusive solution for enterprises with over 100,000 subscribers with a fixed price of $899/month.

Omnisend vs. SendGrid

Omnisend offers integrated email and SMS tools to help businesses increase conversion rates. Its email features include prebuilt automations, behavior-based segmentation, and customizable templates, all aimed at helping businesses save time and target customers with personalized communications.

With built-in e-commerce integrations, Omnisend is a good option for online shops looking to drive sales through email and SMS campaigns. 

Email and SMS integration

Omnisend integrates both email and SMS marketing in one platform, allowing businesses to reach customers via multiple channels. It offers a streamlined experience to create and manage campaigns that combine both email and SMS, helping improve engagement and conversion rates.

While SendGrid is excellent for handling large volumes of email, it does not offer SMS marketing features. So if you want an all-inclusive tool for SMS campaigns, Ominisend might be a great alternative.

Prebuilt automation workflows

Omnisend provides a range of pre-built automation workflows, including welcome series, abandoned cart recovery, and post-purchase follow-ups. These automated workflows are designed to save businesses time and effort while ensuring timely and relevant communication with customers.

SendGrid offers basic email automation features, such as triggered email sequences and transactional email support. However, it lacks the same level of prebuilt automation workflows for marketing purposes as Omnisend, which is tailored for e-commerce.

E-commerce integrations

Omnisend has robust integrations with major e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and up to 130 more platforms. These integrations enable seamless import of customer data, order details, and product catalogs, which is essential for running highly targeted email and SMS campaigns.

SendGrid is more focused on email delivery rather than connecting to e-commerce platforms for product-based email campaigns. As such, Omnisend is a more attractive option for online retailers.

User reviews

Omnisend earns a 4.7 rating on Capterra and 4.6 on G2. According to users on Capterra, it is even more easy to use than Mailchimp. Customers value its e-commerce-focused features, ease of use, and prebuilt automation workflows. However, some users report occasional issues with segmentation. Some others also believe it might be too expensive.

Pricing 

Omnisend offers tailored email marketing solutions:

• Free: Allows up to 250 contacts and 500 emails monthly.
• Standard: $16/month for 500 contacts and 6,000 emails and basic features.
• Pro: $59/month for 2,500 contacts and unlimited emails with priority support and SMS credits.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing with dedicated account management for higher needs​.

How SendGrid Compares to Other Email Marketing Platforms

To Sum Up 

To round this up, SendGrid is a fine tool, but like every software out there, it can’t appeal to everyone. If you find some of its limitations, like the pricing and customer support, a big issue, you might consider any of these SendGrid alternatives.  

However, we strongly recommend that you try some of these software tools for free before you make a long-term commitment. By carefully assessing your business’s email needs, you can select the most effective and cost-efficient provider from the options listed above, ensuring seamless and impactful email communications.