SendGridvs
ActiveCampaign


ActiveCampaign: CRM, marketing automation, and sales platform

Email at scale, proven deliverability, and so much more
As of 29 August 2026, SendGrid is free to use. SendGrid is Twilio's email delivery API, free for 100 emails a day for 60 days, then from $19. Softwr lists it under Email Marketing.
Overview
SendGrid is Twilio's email delivery API, free for 100 emails a day for 60 days, then from $19.95 per month on the Essentials plan.
The honest half
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about SendGrid.
Cross-shopped
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.


ActiveCampaign: CRM, marketing automation, and sales platform


AWeber: Email marketing and automation for small business


Brevo: Email, SMS, and CRM in one platform


EmailOctopus: Affordable email marketing
Answered, with sources
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
SendGrid email API pricing is usage-based. Twilio SendGrid offers a free tier for new users and scales with email volume. Customers should check the Twilio SendGrid pricing page for current rates and plan options.
SourceYes, SendGrid offers a free tier for new users to get started with email API delivery. The free plan includes limited monthly emails and is suitable for getting started with transactional email.
SourceSendGrid includes technical documentation and email support for users. Customers can access the help center, API documentation, and send emails to support for assistance with integration and troubleshooting.
SourceKeep looking
Raw transactional email infrastructure priced per thousand messages, with no campaign UI at all
Self-hosted newsletter app bought once for $69 that sends through your own Amazon SES account
Cold email outreach platform with AI, lead sourcing, and mailbox rotation
Email marketing tool with a genuine free tier, priced by contact count once paid
Email marketing platform priced by contact tier, with unlimited sends only from the mid tier up
Self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager that ships as a single Go binary
Low-cost email marketing from 9 US dollars a month, owned by Sitecore since 2021
Retail-focused engagement platform now sold and contracted through SAP
All-in-one email marketing, automation and landing pages
AGPL newsletter tool from Germany, self-hostable or hosted in the EU with no free plan
Self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager that ships as a single Go binary
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for SendGrid, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
What people switch to, and what they give up
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Email marketing tool with a genuine free tier, priced by contact count once paid
Per month by contact tier once on a paid planEmail marketing platform priced by contact tier, with unlimited sends only from the mid tier up
Per month by contact tier and plan levelRaw transactional email infrastructure priced per thousand messages, with no campaign UI at all
Per 1,000 emails sent, tiered by volume, no campaign features includedSelf-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager that ships as a single Go binary
Open source, no licence feeLow-cost email marketing from 9 US dollars a month, owned by Sitecore since 2021
Per month by contact countAGPL newsletter tool from Germany, self-hostable or hosted in the EU with no free plan
Per month by emails sentSelf-hosted newsletter app bought once for $69 that sends through your own Amazon SES account
One-time purchase