SendGrid killed its free plan
New sign-ups lost the free-forever plan in March 2025 and got a 60-day trial instead. On May 27, existing free accounts were told to upgrade by July 26 or have sending turned off. Paid plans start at $19.95 a month.
What changed
- Free tier cut, May 27, 2025
- New prices apply from Jul 26, 2025
- Before: Free forever: 100 emails a day; Marketing Campaigns free with 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails a month
- After: 60-day trial at 100 emails a day, then upgrade from $19.95/mo or sending stops
- Existing customers: Not grandfathered. Free users were offered 50% off until Aug 31, 2025.
- Cheapest ways to keep sending small volumes: Amazon SES ($1.60 for 10k), Plunk ($10 for 10k), or the free tiers of Resend (3,000/mo) and Brevo (300/day).
Cheaper alternatives to SendGrid
At 100k emails/mo, SendGrid costs $34.95/mo. 1 email API costs less:
- Amazon SES: $10/mo (À la carte, $0.10 per 1k (any account can switch to it))
SendGrid alternatives: 8 email APIs compared, at every size.
Sources
Every price and change for SendGrid: SendGrid.