Email Marketing · head to head
Resend vs Instantly
Resend
Email Marketing
Email API for developers to send transactional and marketing email
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Instantly
Email Marketing
Cold email outreach platform with AI, lead sourcing, and mailbox rotation
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Resend free tier is capped at 100 emails per day, which is restrictive for apps with bursty transactional volume.; Instantly shared mailbox rotation could expose sender reputation to other users' poor practices; domain reputation can degrade rapidly if co-users violate sending norms
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Resend and Instantly actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (web, api), 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 Resend
- Email API and SDKs
- Domain management
- Audience and contacts
- Automation workflows
- Email analytics
- Dedicated IPs
Only in Instantly
Nothing recorded that Resend does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Resend
- Sending transactional emails from a web appnot Instantly
- Running marketing email campaigns to contact listsnot Instantly
- Automating onboarding or lifecycle email sequencesnot Instantly
- Tracking deliverability and engagement analyticsnot Instantly
Instantly
- SaaS sales teams automating cold outreach and lead qualificationnot Resend
- Digital agencies and freelancers running campaigns for multiple clientsnot Resend
- E-commerce and B2B businesses prospecting at scalenot Resend
- Recruitment agencies sourcing candidates via emailnot Resend
- Partnerships and channel sales automating partner outreachnot Resend
- Financial services and insurance lead generationnot Resend
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
Instantly
- Shared mailbox rotation could expose sender reputation to other users' poor practices; domain reputation can degrade rapidly if co-users violate sending norms
- AI campaign generation, whilst useful, produces generic copy; personalisation still requires manual review and editing for high-quality outreach
- Email as primary channel faces declining effectiveness; spam filtering improves and email open rates decline generally
- Lead database quality varies; verification filters may miss invalid addresses or outdated contacts
- Freemium model limits features significantly; advanced analytics, API access, and priority support require paid tiers
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Instantly
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Instantly review.
Which should you pick?
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Resend or Instantly better?
- Neither clearly leads. Resend starts at Free and Instantly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Resend or Instantly?
- Resend starts at Free and Instantly at Free.
- Does Resend or Instantly run on more platforms?
- Resend runs on web, api. Instantly runs on Web, API.
- Can I use Resend for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Resend best used for?
- Resend is most often used for sending transactional emails from a web app, running marketing email campaigns to contact lists, automating onboarding or lifecycle email sequences, tracking deliverability and engagement analytics. Of those, sending transactional emails from a web app and running marketing email campaigns to contact lists are not what Instantly is typically brought in for.
- What can Resend do that Instantly cannot?
- Resend covers Email API and SDKs, Domain management, Audience and contacts, Automation workflows.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
SourceInstantly: Is Instantly free?
Instantly offers a freemium model. No credit card is required to start. Free tier includes basic lead finding and campaign creation; paid tiers unlock advanced features (API access, advanced analytics, priority support).
SourceResend: 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.
SourceInstantly: How does Instantly's AI Copilot work?
AI Copilot generates email copy, subject lines, and follow-up sequences based on brief campaign descriptions. Users can customise generated templates before sending.
SourceResend: 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.
SourceInstantly: What CRMs does Instantly integrate with?
Instantly integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Zapier. Custom integrations via REST API are available on paid plans.
SourceRelated pages
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