Resend vs Postmark vs SendGrid vs AWS SES vs Mailgun (2026)
Which email API should you pick in 2026? Chrome-verified pricing, deliverability data, and real gotchas for Resend, Postmark, SendGrid, AWS SES, and Mailgun — compared side by side.
| 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 |
| Pick if | You want the fastest time-to-first-email with the best developer experience, especially in React/Next.js projects. | Deliverability is your top priority and you need a proven, battle-tested transactional email service. | You need transactional and marketing email in one platform, are already invested in the Twilio ecosystem, and can budget $19.95/month minimum (no free tier). | You are already on AWS, sending 50K+ emails/month, and have ops capacity for infrastructure setup. | You need inbound email parsing, routing rules, or email validation as built-in platform features. |
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.
Get this comparison in your terminal: npx auxiliar · In Claude Code: claude mcp add auxiliar -- npx auxiliar-mcp