Updated November 2026

Best email APIs for developers

Resend, Postmark, Amazon SES, Mailgun, SendGrid and Brevo compared: free plans, price for your volume and the catch, from each official pricing page.

The short answer · November 15, 2026

Resend is the best email API for most developers in 2026: a clean API and React Email, 3,000 free emails a month and $20 for 50,000. Postmark is the pick when deliverability of transactional mail matters most, and Amazon SES is the cheapest at scale at $0.10 per 1,000 emails if you can build the rest yourself.

Best overallResend
Best deliverabilityPostmark
Cheapest at scaleAmazon SES
Best for routing and inboundMailgun
Best API + marketing in oneBrevo
Best for big Twilio shopsSendGrid

Comparison

checked 2026-11-15

Tool	Best for	Free plan	Paid from	The catch
Resend	Best overall	3,000/mo (100/day)	$20/mo for 50k	No annual discount
Postmark	Best deliverability	100/mo	$15/mo for 10k	Pricier per email at volume
Amazon SES	Cheapest at scale	AWS Free Tier credits (new accounts)	$0.10 per 1,000	Sandbox approval; DIY bounces and logs
Mailgun	Best for routing and inbound	100/day, 1 domain	$15/mo for 10k	1-day logs on free
Brevo	Best API + marketing in one	300/day	$9/mo for 5k	Moves you up a tier, no overage
SendGrid	Best for big Twilio shops	60-day trial only	$19.95/mo for 50k	No permanent free plan

1.Resend· Best overall

Email API for developers

Free: 3,000 emails a month, 100 a day. Pro from $20 for 50k, Scale from $90 for 100k (more domains, dedicated IP add-on); overage $0.90/1k on Pro. No annual discount. 3M+ a month is Enterprise.

Resend on DevHunt →Alternatives Official pricing

2.Postmark· Best deliverability

Transactional email delivery for apps

Known for deliverability and fast delivery. Free developer plan: 100 emails a month. Basic from $15 for 10k ($1.80/1k over); Pro and Platform tiers add features for ~10–20% more. Sent and received emails both count. 3M+ is a sales quote.

Postmark on DevHunt →Alternatives Official pricing

3.Amazon SES· Cheapest at scale

Bulk and transactional email sending from AWS

The cheapest at scale: $0.10 per 1,000 on the à-la-carte plan, no monthly fee. Catch: new accounts start on the $0.16/1k Essentials plan since July 2026 (switch it manually), you start in a sandbox until AWS approves you, and you build bounce handling, templates and logs yourself. Dedicated IP $24.95/month.

Amazon SES on DevHunt →Alternatives Official pricing

4.Mailgun· Best for routing and inbound

Email API for sending, receiving and tracking email

Free: 100 emails a day, one domain, 1-day logs. Basic $15 for 10k, Foundation from $35 for 50k, Scale from $90 (dedicated IP, 30-day logs). Extra dedicated IPs $59/month.

Mailgun on DevHunt →Alternatives Official pricing

5.Brevo· Best API + marketing in one

Email, SMS and marketing automation

One plan covers both API and marketing email, priced by emails a month with unlimited contacts. Free: 300 a day. Starter from $9 for 5k up to 100k; above that Standard and Professional. No overage: you move up a tier. Annual billing is 10% off.

Brevo on DevHunt →Alternatives Official pricing

6.SendGrid· Best for big Twilio shops

Email delivery API and marketing email

No permanent free plan any more, only a 60-day trial (100 a day). Essentials from $19.95 for 50k; Pro from $89.95 for 100k adds a dedicated IP. Overage rates are from Twilio’s pricing PDF. 2.5M+ is Premier (sales).

SendGrid on DevHunt →Alternatives Official pricing

How we picked

Every tool here is listed on DevHunt. We compared them on the points below and read each price, free plan and license on the tool's own pricing page and GitHub repository on November 15, 2026. Prices change: follow the official pricing link before you decide.

Free emails per month
Price of the first paid plan and at 50k emails
Developer experience: API, SDKs, templates, logs
Deliverability reputation

Email API pricing calculator for your volume All email tools on DevHunt

FAQ

What is the best email API for developers?+

Resend for most new projects: a modern API, React Email templates, 3,000 free emails a month and $20 for 50,000. Postmark if transactional deliverability is the priority, Amazon SES if price at high volume matters most.

What is the cheapest email API?+

Amazon SES at $0.10 per 1,000 emails, with no monthly fee, once you switch new accounts to the à-la-carte plan. You build bounce handling, templates and logs yourself.

Which email API has the best free plan?+

Brevo (300 emails a day, about 9,000 a month) and Resend (3,000 a month, 100 a day). Mailgun gives 100 a day on one domain. SendGrid has only a 60-day trial now.

Resend or SendGrid?+

Resend for a new project: simpler API, a permanent free plan and $20 for 50,000 emails. SendGrid if you are already on Twilio and need its marketing features; it costs $19.95 for 50,000 but has no free plan.