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Email Marketing · head to head

Campaign Monitor vs Resend

Campaign Monitor logo

Campaign Monitor

Email Marketing

Email marketing platform priced by contact tier, with unlimited sends only from the mid tier up

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Resend logo

Resend

Email Marketing

Email API for developers to send transactional and marketing email

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Resend has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Campaign Monitor the Lite tier caps monthly sends at 2,500 regardless of contact list size, so a list of any meaningful size cannot be emailed even once a month without exceeding it.; Resend free tier is capped at 100 emails per day, which is restrictive for apps with bursty transactional volume.
  • They diverge on capability: Campaign Monitor covers Drag-and-drop email builder, Resend covers Email API and SDKs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Campaign Monitor and Resend actually diverge.

Attributes where Campaign Monitor and Resend differ
AttributeCampaign MonitorResend
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPer month by contact tier and plan levelfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebweb, api

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Email Marketing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Campaign Monitor

  • Drag-and-drop email builder
  • List segmentation
  • Send-time optimisation
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Multi-brand management

Only in Resend

  • Email API and SDKs
  • Domain management
  • Audience and contacts
  • Email analytics
  • Dedicated IPs

Both cover

  • Automation workflows

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Campaign Monitor

  • A small marketing team wanting straightforward campaign design and automation without a full martech stacknot Resend
  • A business with a list under a few thousand contacts and infrequent sends, where the Lite tier's cap is not a real constraintnot Resend
  • An agency managing multiple brands wanting Enterprise-tier multi-brand account managementnot Resend
  • A team wanting a bundled website builder alongside email on the Premier tiernot Resend

Resend

  • Sending transactional emails from a web appnot Campaign Monitor
  • Running marketing email campaigns to contact listsnot Campaign Monitor
  • Automating onboarding or lifecycle email sequencesnot Campaign Monitor
  • Tracking deliverability and engagement analyticsnot Campaign Monitor

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Campaign Monitor

  • The Lite tier caps monthly sends at 2,500 regardless of contact list size, so a list of any meaningful size cannot be emailed even once a month without exceeding it.
  • Unlimited sending only starts at the Essentials tier, so the cheap headline Lite price is not comparable to competitors that offer unlimited sends at their entry tier.
  • Its e-commerce-specific automation (abandoned cart flows, predictive segments) is less developed than Klaviyo's, making it a weaker fit for retail-heavy senders.
  • As part of the Marigold group alongside Sailthru and other acquired brands, product roadmap priority is shared across a portfolio rather than dedicated solely to Campaign Monitor.
  • Pricing multiplies on two axes, contact tier and plan level, so estimating total cost requires checking both dimensions rather than a single number.

Resend

  • Free tier is capped at 100 emails per day, which is restrictive for apps with bursty transactional volume.
  • Marketing and transactional plans are billed and priced separately, so a product needing both must budget for two tiers.
  • Dedicated IPs are only available on the Scale plan and require a minimum daily send volume.

Pricing, plan by plan

Campaign Monitor

On request
  • Lite$undefined/month
    • Monthly send cap of 2,500 emails regardless of list size
    • Basic campaign and template tools
    • Priced by contact tier from under 500 to 50,000+
  • Essentials$undefined/month
    • Unlimited monthly email sends
    • Priority support
    • Priced by contact tier from under 500 to 50,000+
  • Premier$undefined/month
    • Unlimited monthly email sends
    • Premier-level phone support
    • Drag-and-drop website builder included
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom quote
    • Multi-brand account management
    • Dedicated account manager, SOC2 and GDPR-aligned security

Resend

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 3,000 emails/month
    • 100 emails/day
    • 3 domains
  • Pro$20/month
    • 50,000 emails/month
    • 10 domains
    • 100 AI credits/month
  • Scale$90/month
    • 100,000 emails/month
    • 1,000 domains
    • Slack and ticket support

Which should you pick?

Choose Campaign Monitor if

  • You need drag-and-drop email builder.
  • You also want list segmentation.
Campaign Monitor review

Choose Resend if

  • You need email api and sdks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want domain management.
Resend review

Questions people ask

Is Campaign Monitor or Resend better?
Neither clearly leads. Campaign Monitor starts at On request and Resend at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Campaign Monitor or Resend?
Resend has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Campaign Monitor and Free for Resend.
Does Campaign Monitor or Resend run on more platforms?
Campaign Monitor runs on Web. Resend runs on web, api.
Can I use Resend for free?
Yes. Resend has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Campaign Monitor starts at On request.
What is Campaign Monitor best used for?
Campaign Monitor is most often used for a small marketing team wanting straightforward campaign design and automation without a full martech stack, a business with a list under a few thousand contacts and infrequent sends, where the lite tier's cap is not a real constraint, an agency managing multiple brands wanting enterprise-tier multi-brand account management, a team wanting a bundled website builder alongside email on the premier tier. Of those, a small marketing team wanting straightforward campaign design and automation without a full martech stack and a business with a list under a few thousand contacts and infrequent sends, where the lite tier's cap is not a real constraint are not what Resend is typically brought in for.
What can Campaign Monitor do that Resend cannot?
Campaign Monitor covers Drag-and-drop email builder, List segmentation, Send-time optimisation, Landing pages and forms. Resend covers Email API and SDKs, Domain management, Audience and contacts, Email analytics. Both handle Automation workflows.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Campaign Monitor: Does the cheapest plan include unlimited sends?

No. Lite caps monthly sends at 2,500 emails regardless of list size; unlimited sending starts at the Essentials tier.

Resend: What does Resend cost?

Transactional email starts free for 3,000 emails/month, then Pro is $20/month for 50,000 emails and Scale ranges from $90 to $1,150/month for up to 2.5M emails. Marketing email is priced separately by contact count, starting free for 1,000 contacts.

Source
Campaign Monitor: Who owns Campaign Monitor?

Marigold, a marketing technology group that also owns Sailthru and other acquired email and loyalty platforms.

Resend: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the free transactional plan allows 3,000 emails per month capped at 100 per day across 3 domains, and the free marketing plan allows up to 1,000 contacts.

Source
Campaign Monitor: Is there a free plan?

A 30-day free trial with a 500-contact limit is available, but there is no permanent free tier.

Resend: How is usage metered?

Transactional plans are metered by number of emails sent, with overage billed per 1,000 emails. Marketing plans are metered by number of contacts rather than emails sent.

Source
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