Postmark vs SendGrid (Twilio) comes down to free tier, price and what you optimize for. Postmark has the more generous free tier, and the cheaper paid entry point is $15/mo. Postmark stands out for industry-leading deliverability and speed, while SendGrid (Twilio) stands out for mature feature breadth and scale.
- Postmark free tier: 100 emails/mo (no expiration).
- SendGrid (Twilio) free tier: Permanent free tier discontinued on 2025-05-27. New accounts get a 60-day trial (100 emails/day) only.
- Postmark from $15/mo; SendGrid (Twilio) from $19.95/mo.
- Postmark for industry-leading deliverability and speed; SendGrid (Twilio) for mature feature breadth and scale.
Postmark vs SendGrid (Twilio): side by side
| Postmark | SendGrid (Twilio) | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 100 emails/mo (no expiration). | Permanent free tier discontinued on 2025-05-27. New accounts get a 60-day trial (100 emails/day) only. |
| Entry paid | $15/mo | $19.95/mo |
| Entry detail | From $15/mo (10,000 emails). Overage $1.80/1k (Basic). | Email API Essentials from $19.95/mo (50,000 emails). Pro adds a dedicated IP at a higher tier. |
| Dedicated IP | From $50/mo (requires 300,000+/mo) | Included on Pro and above |
| Best for | Industry-leading deliverability and speed | Mature feature breadth and scale |
| Watch out | Small free tier (100/mo) | Removing the permanent free tier triggered a wave of switchers |
Postmark and SendGrid (Twilio) take different approaches to transactional email. Postmark is free up to 100 emails/mo (no expiration), then paid plans run $15/mo for 10,000 and $16.5/mo for 10,000, with overage from $1.80 / 1k; dedicated IP: From $50/mo (requires 300,000+/mo).
SendGrid (Twilio) no longer has a permanent free tier (new accounts get a 60-day trial at 100/day), then paid plans run $19.95/mo for 50,000 and $89.95/mo for 100,000; dedicated IP: Included on Pro and above. SendGrid (Twilio) is known for mature feature breadth and scale and tight Twilio ecosystem integration.
For a Next.js codebase, the choice usually comes down to free-tier headroom and developer experience versus deliverability guarantees. Best when deliverability matters most. In Next.js, use the postmark SDK from a Route Handler. If a handful of emails absolutely must reach the inbox, weight deliverability more heavily; if you want the fastest start, favor the larger free tier and the better SDK. Pricing was verified on 2026-06-04.
// app/api/send/route.ts
import { Resend } from "resend";
const resend = new Resend(process.env.RESEND_API_KEY!);
export async function POST(req: Request) {
const { to, subject, html } = await req.json();
// was: client.sendEmail({ From, To, Subject, HtmlBody })
const { data, error } = await resend.emails.send({
from: "noreply@yourdomain.com", to, subject, html,
});
return error
? Response.json({ error }, { status: 500 })
: Response.json({ id: data?.id });
}FAQ
- Which is cheaper, Postmark or SendGrid (Twilio)?
- At the entry tier, Postmark is $15/mo and SendGrid (Twilio) is $19.95/mo; for low volume the one with the larger free tier (Postmark) is effectively cheaper.
- Which has the bigger free tier, Postmark or SendGrid (Twilio)?
- Postmark. Postmark: 100 emails/mo (no expiration). SendGrid (Twilio): Permanent free tier discontinued on 2025-05-27. New accounts get a 60-day trial (100 emails/day) only.