AWS SES vs SendGrid(2026)
AWS SES is better for teams that need cheapest at scale. SendGrid is the stronger choice if huge volume capacity. AWS SES is paid (from $0.10/1,000 emails) and SendGrid is freemium (from $19.95/month).
Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.
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AWS SES
Amazon Simple Email Service is the cheapest bulk email sending service at $0.10 per 1,000 emails.
Starting at $0.10/1,000 emails
Visit AWS SESSendGrid
SendGrid (Twilio) is a cloud-based SMTP provider for transactional and marketing email.
Starting at $19.95/month
Visit SendGridHow Do AWS SES and SendGrid Compare on Features?
| Feature | AWS SES | SendGrid |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | paid | freemium |
| Starting price | $0.10/1,000 emails | $19.95/month |
| Bulk sending | ✓ | — |
| SMTP + API | ✓ | — |
| Suppression list | ✓ | — |
| Event publishing | ✓ | — |
| Dedicated IPs | ✓ | — |
| Configuration sets | ✓ | — |
| Transactional API | — | ✓ |
| Marketing campaigns | — | ✓ |
| Email templates | — | ✓ |
| Deliverability tools | — | ✓ |
| Analytics | — | ✓ |
AWS SES Pros and Cons vs SendGrid
A
AWS SES
+Cheapest at scale
+AWS ecosystem integration
+Dedicated IPs available
+High sending limits
−Complex setup
−No built-in templates
−AWS ecosystem required
−Poor developer experience
S
SendGrid
+Huge volume capacity
+Battle-tested deliverability
+Marketing + transactional in one
−Complex UI
−Support can be slow
−Pricier than alternatives
Should You Use AWS SES or SendGrid?
Choose AWS SES if…
- •Cheapest at scale
- •AWS ecosystem integration
- •Dedicated IPs available
Choose SendGrid if…
- •Huge volume capacity
- •Battle-tested deliverability
- •Marketing + transactional in one