SendGrid and Resend answer different questions. SendGrid is a full email platform: transactional and marketing, campaigns, templates, segmentation, a large SDK ecosystem, and a free tier. Resend is a lean transactional API built for developers: send email from code, with a React SDK and email components, and little else. If you only ever send transactional mail, Resend is the simpler tool. If you will grow into marketing, SendGrid is the bigger platform.
SendGrid has been around for over a decade and does a lot: campaigns, automation, templates, analytics, and sending from shared or dedicated IPs. That scope is a feature when you need it and overhead when you do not.
Resend does one thing well: transactional email from an API. No campaign builder, no segmentation, no marketing surface. The API is small enough to learn in an afternoon, and the defaults are sensible.
SendGrid sends from a shared IP pool by default, with dedicated IPs available on higher tiers. Resend also sends from shared infrastructure by default and offers dedicated IPs on higher plans. Both are younger or older in different ways: SendGrid's shared pool has a long, well-known history, while Resend's is newer. For modest transactional volume both are fine; for high volume or a reputation-sensitive product, dedicated IPs and careful warmup matter on either platform.
SendGrid has a free tier and volume-based paid plans that include marketing features. Resend has a free tier and volume-based plans for transactional sending. Resend is usually cheaper if you only need transactional; SendGrid bundles more. Check current pricing before you commit.
Pick SendGrid if you need marketing campaigns or expect to grow into them, or if you want the larger ecosystem. Pick Resend if you send transactional mail only and want the cleanest possible API. And on either platform, the SPF, DKIM and DMARC setup on your domain is what you control. Check it free in 30 seconds.
Whichever provider you pick, the setup on your domain decides the outcome.
Run a free audit of your sending domain. It checks SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MX, TLS and IP reputation in about 30 seconds, no account needed.
Check my domain free