Resend vs Postmark vs SendGrid vs AWS SES vs Mailgun
Head-to-head comparison of the top 5 transactional email services. Trust scores, real pricing, biggest gotchas, and when to choose each.
| Criteria | Resend | Postmark | SendGrid | AWS SES | Mailgun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 8.2/10 | 8.5/10 | 6.5/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Free Tier | 3K/mo (100/day cap) | 100/month | 100/day | 62K/mo (from EC2) | None (removed 2023) |
| Paid Starts At | $20/month | $15/month | $19.95/month | $0.10/1K emails | $35/month |
| Best For | Best DX, React/Next.js | Deliverability-critical apps | Transactional + marketing combo | High volume on AWS | Inbound parsing + routing |
| Biggest Gotcha | 100/day cap blocks staging | Shared IP reputation risk | Trust declining post-Twilio | Multi-service infrastructure project | No free tier, 5-day log retention |
| DX Rating | 9/10 | 7/10 | 6/10 | 4/10 | 7/10 |
When to choose each
Choose Resend if you’re starting a new project, value developer experience, and are building with React/Next.js. Best API design in the category. Watch the 100/day free tier cap.
Choose Postmark if email deliverability is mission-critical (password resets, receipts, notifications). Proven track record, focused exclusively on transactional email.
Choose AWS SES if you’re already on AWS and sending 50K+ emails/month. Cheapest option at scale, but requires significant infrastructure setup (IAM, Lambda, SNS, CloudWatch).
Avoid SendGrid for new projects. Trust has declined since the Twilio acquisition. If you’re already on SendGrid and it works, no urgency to migrate.
Choose Mailgun if you need inbound email parsing or routing rules. Otherwise, Resend or Postmark are better choices at similar or lower price points.
Cost comparison at scale
| Volume | Resend | Postmark | SendGrid | AWS SES | Mailgun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1K/mo | Free | Free | Free | Free* | $35 |
| 10K/mo | Free | $15 | $19.95 | ~$1 | $35 |
| 50K/mo | $20 | $50 | $19.95 | ~$5 | $35 |
| 100K/mo | Custom | $100 | $89.95 | ~$10 | $90 |
| 500K/mo | Custom | Custom | Custom | ~$50 | Custom |
*AWS SES free tier requires sending from EC2. Add ~$25/month for dedicated IP at any volume.