SendGrid: a data-backed look

SendGrid overview

SendGrid is a cloud-based email delivery platform built for handling transactional and marketing emails at scale. Now part of Twilio, it processes over 90 billion emails each month across 195 countries, with delivery speeds averaging 1.9 seconds.

Best suited for businesses that rely on high-volume email communications, SendGrid offers strong APIs, deliverability tools, and analytics to help messages reach inboxes reliably and stay compliant with email regulations.

How much do businesses spend on SendGrid?

The chart below illustrates average quarterly spending on SenGrid across different business sizes.

Micro businesses demonstrate the most stable spending patterns on SendGrid throughout the year, with minimal growth from quarter to quarter. This consistency suggests predictable email delivery needs and pricing, making SendGrid a reliable budgeting option for smaller organizations with steady communication volumes.

Small and medium-sized businesses show a gradual but steady increase in their SendGrid expenditures over the course of the year. Starting with modest investment in the first quarter, spending grew consistently through each subsequent quarter. This upward trend likely reflects these organizations' expanding email volumes as they scale their customer communications, newsletters, and transactional messaging needs.

Mid-market and enterprise organizations maintain the highest spending levels while demonstrating consistent growth throughout the year. Their investment increases steadily from quarter to quarter, suggesting these larger organizations are expanding their email infrastructure and delivery capabilities, possibly driven by growing customer bases or more sophisticated email marketing campaigns.

Who is SendGrid best for?

The chart below breaks down SendGrid's user base by industry and business size.

Micro businesses represent the largest segment of SendGrid's user base, accounting for just over two-fifths of all customers. This substantial representation demonstrates SendGrid's accessibility for startups and small teams who need reliable email delivery infrastructure without complex enterprise requirements.

Small and medium-sized businesses constitute over one-third of the platform's customer base, indicating SendGrid's effectiveness in serving growing organizations that need scalable email delivery as their communication needs expand. Mid-market and enterprise companies comprise nearly one-quarter of users, representing a significant portion that likely contributes disproportionately to revenue given their higher spending patterns.

This distribution reveals SendGrid's positioning as a scalable email delivery platform that serves businesses across all growth stages. The relatively balanced representation across business sizes, with three-quarters of users coming from smaller segments, suggests a platform designed for accessibility while maintaining enterprise-grade capabilities for larger organizations.

SendGrid key features

High-Volume Deliverability

• What it does: Utilizes a sophisticated mail transfer agent (MTA) to process massive email volumes efficiently, with built-in testing tools and dedicated IPs to optimize inbox placement.
• Key benefit: Ensures time-sensitive communications like authentication codes and transaction confirmations arrive promptly.

Transactional Email Support

• What it does: Provides RESTful APIs and SMTP relay integration for sending triggered emails based on user actions or system events.
• Key benefit: Powers critical business communications like password resets, order confirmations, and account notifications with exceptional reliability and speed.

Email Validation

• What it does: Employs an intelligent API that verifies email addresses before sending, identifying typos and inactive accounts.
• Key benefit: Maintains clean contact lists, improves deliverability rates, and reduces bounces that could harm sender reputation.

Analytics & Reporting

• What it does: Offers Email Insights Reports and a Deliverability Insights Dashboard tracking open rates, click-throughs, and deliverability metrics.
• Key benefit: Provides actionable visibility into email performance, enabling data-driven optimization and compliance documentation.

Security & Compliance

• What it does: Implements SOC 2 Type II certified controls, encryption for data in transit, and support for email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
• Key benefit: Protects sensitive communications from unauthorized access and shields organizations from fraud and phishing attempts.

Marketing Campaign Management

• What it does: Supplies tools for email scheduling, A/B testing, audience segmentation, and automation workflows.
• Key benefit: Enables targeted messaging and optimized campaign performance without requiring separate marketing email platforms.

Scalable Infrastructure

• What it does: Offers cloud-based infrastructure that handles unpredictable volume increases without manual intervention.
• Key benefit: Accommodates business growth and seasonal spikes without additional hardware or staffing requirements.

SendGrid pricing

SendGrid pros & cons

SendGrid is a good fit if:

• Your business relies on time-critical transactional emails like authentication codes or payment confirmations
• Your development team needs API-first architecture with comprehensive technical control
• You require the scalability to handle unpredictable email volume spikes without service degradation
• Security and compliance certifications (SOC 2 Type II) are essential for your industry requirements

Consider alternatives if:

• Customer support responsiveness is critical to your operations (try Klaviyo or Mailchimp)
• You need sophisticated marketing automation capabilities beyond basic campaigns (consider ActiveCampaign or Marketo)
• Your primary focus is user-friendly interface over technical capabilities (Constant Contact might be better)
• You require HIPAA compliance for handling protected health information (explore Marketo's enterprise solutions)

SendGrid alternatives

• ActiveCampaign: Excels in marketing automation with advanced customer journey mapping capabilities. Its CRM integration and predictive sending features make it ideal for businesses focusing on relationship marketing over pure transactional delivery. Best for companies where marketing sophistication outweighs raw delivery volume needs.
• Constant Contact: Provides a straightforward email marketing platform with intuitive campaign creation tools. With excellent deliverability for smaller volumes, built-in social media tools, and responsive templates, it suits small businesses prioritizing ease of use over technical flexibility or high-volume sending.
• Klaviyo: Specializes in e-commerce email marketing with powerful segmentation based on customer behavior. Its pre-built automation flows and direct integrations with major e-commerce platforms make it perfect for online retailers seeking to drive revenue through targeted lifecycle campaigns.
• Mailchimp: Offers an all-in-one marketing platform extending beyond email to include landing pages, social media, and basic CRM functionality. Its intuitive drag-and-drop editor and comprehensive analytics appeal to marketing teams seeking broader channel capabilities without deep technical expertise.
• Marketo: Delivers enterprise-grade marketing automation focused on B2B lead management and complex nurture campaigns. Its account-based marketing capabilities, advanced lead scoring, and robust integration ecosystem serve sophisticated marketing operations within larger organizations.
• Omnisend: Built specifically for e-commerce with pre-built workflows for cart abandonment, welcome series, and order follow-ups. Its integrated SMS and push notification channels alongside email make it ideal for retailers seeking unified customer messaging across multiple channels.
• SendinBlue: Combines email marketing, SMS, and chat capabilities in a cost-effective platform. Its transaction-friendly pricing model (based on email volume rather than contacts) and developer-friendly API make it suitable for businesses with large contact databases but moderate sending frequency.