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site.sendgrid.com: the free plan is retired. What changed, and where to send for free now

Twilio's own changelog and support pages on the end of SendGrid's free plans, what new accounts get instead, and the free and low-cost options that remain.

Published by
MarkRelay Research
Updated
Sources
9 primary sources, linked below

Summary

Twilio retired SendGrid's Free Email API and Free Marketing Campaigns plans starting May 27, 2025. Existing free users kept their limits for 60 days; after that, sending was paused, and Marketing Campaigns accounts with more than 100 contacts lost them in a way upgrading later cannot restore. New accounts get a 60-day trial at 100 emails a day through the API or SMTP, then need a paid plan; Essentials starts at $19.95 a month. Ongoing free tiers still exist elsewhere: Resend 3,000 a month, Brevo 300 a day, SMTP2GO 1,000 a month, Mailgun 100 a day. If your domains are on Cloudflare, Email Sending is $5 a month with 3,000 emails, and MarkRelay adds mailboxes and an API on it.

Key findings

  1. 1Free Email API and Free Marketing Campaigns retired starting May 27, 2025, with 60 days of continued access for existing free users.
  2. 2After the transition, sending is paused on free plans; Marketing Campaigns accounts over 100 contacts lose them, and upgrading later does not restore them.
  3. 3New accounts from March 25, 2025: a 60-day trial, 100 emails a day via API or SMTP, 100 marketing emails a day and 100 contacts; sending stops when it ends unless you upgrade.
  4. 4The lowest paid plan, Essentials, starts at $19.95 a month.

Questions this report answers

Asked by real people, quoted as they wrote them.

“Sendgrid Free Email API plan deprecated for a paid ones. Alternatives?”

r/selfhosted, 39 comments

Free tiers that remain: Resend 3,000 a month (100 a day), Brevo 300 a day, SMTP2GO 1,000 a month, MailerSend 500 a month, Mailgun 100 a day. On Cloudflare, Email Sending is $5 a month with 3,000 included.

“is sendgrid free”

Google and Bing search suggestion

Not any more. New accounts get a 60-day trial at 100 emails a day; then Essentials from $19.95 a month.

“alternative to sendgrid”

Google and Bing search suggestion

See the free tiers below. If you also receive mail, compare inbound: Resend counts it toward the quota, Mailgun limits routes by plan, and MarkRelay on Cloudflare receives into mailboxes with signed webhooks.

“sendgrid free trial”

Google and Bing search suggestion

60 days, 100 emails a day through the API or SMTP and 100 marketing contacts; when it ends, sending stops unless you upgrade.

What changed at SendGrid

Free Email API and Free Marketing Campaigns

Per Twilio
Retired starting May 27, 2025

Existing free users

Per Twilio
60 more days, then sending paused

Marketing contacts over 100

Per Twilio
Deleted after the transition; not restored on a later upgrade

New accounts

Per Twilio
60-day trial, 100/day, 100 contacts

Lowest paid plan

Per Twilio
Essentials from $19.95/month

Source: SendGrid free plan changelog, 60-day trial, SendGrid pricing.

Free SMTP relays and APIs compared

Brevo

Free sending
300/day
First paid step
$9, 5,000/month

Resend

Free sending
3,000/month, 100/day
First paid step
$20, 50,000/month

SMTP2GO

Free sending
1,000/month
First paid step
$10, 10,000/month

MailerSend

Free sending
500/month
First paid step
$7, 5,000/month

Mailgun

Free sending
100/day
First paid step
$15, 10,000/month

Cloudflare Email Sending

Free sending
Verified addresses only
First paid step
$5, 3,000/month

MarkRelay (on Cloudflare)

Free sending
No free plan
First paid step
$15.70/month at 10,000, with mailboxes and API

Source: Brevo, Resend, SMTP2GO, MailerSend, Mailgun, Cloudflare.

Choosing a replacement

If SendGrid only sent password resets and receipts, any of the free tiers above will do, and the choice comes down to daily against monthly caps. If it also received mail through Inbound Parse, check how the replacement receives: some count inbound toward the quota, some limit routes by plan.

On Cloudflare, MarkRelay replaces both halves in your own account: sending through Email Sending ($5 a month with 3,000 emails) and receiving through Email Routing into mailboxes, with an HTTP API, signed webhooks and a webmail on the same addresses.

Where MarkRelay fits

A good fit when

  • Your domain is on Cloudflare and the app should send and receive in your own account, with receiving free.
  • Mailboxes your team can open next to the API, and many domains without per-domain fees.

Look elsewhere when

  • A hosted relay with nothing to deploy, or a dedicated IP and sending SLA.
  • Very high volume where Amazon SES's per-email price matters most.

Common questions

When did SendGrid end its free plan?

Twilio retired the Free Email API and Free Marketing Campaigns plans starting May 27, 2025.

Does SendGrid still have a free trial?

Yes, a 60-day trial at 100 emails a day for new accounts.

Sources and method

  1. SendGrid free plan changelog (www.twilio.com/en-us/changelog/sendgrid-free-plan)
  2. 60-day trial (support.sendgrid.com/hc/en-us/articles/35270136965403-Overview-of-60-Day-Free-Trial-Plans-for-New-SendGrid-Accounts)
  3. SendGrid pricing (www.twilio.com/en-us/products/email-api/pricing)
  4. Resend pricing (resend.com/pricing)
  5. Brevo pricing (www.brevo.com/pricing/)
  6. SMTP2GO pricing (www.smtp2go.com/pricing/)
  7. Mailgun pricing (www.mailgun.com/pricing/)
  8. MailerSend (www.mailersend.com/pricing)
  9. Cloudflare (developers.cloudflare.com/email-service/platform/pricing/)

Facts are taken from each vendor's own pricing pages, documentation or terms as of the updated date above; prices are in US dollars per month unless stated. Cost comparisons apply each vendor's published rates to the same volume. MarkRelay is not affiliated with Twilio SendGrid;"site.sendgrid.com" in the title names the site these facts come from. MarkRelay sells a self-hosted email app, which this page mentions where it fits. Spotted something outdated? Tell us.

Revisions

  • : First published; every fact checked on the vendor's own pages.

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