Amazon SES is an alternative
to Twilio SendGrid
$105/mo (Pro) vs Twilio SendGrid Essentials at $19.95/mo — covering 44% of the 9 compared capabilities.
Same job. Compare the fees.
Comparison scenario
Every cheaper-than claim is tied to a defined scenario — never a bare list price.
1,000 emails/month, 1 seat, monthly billing · USD · prices as observed on official pricing pages.
Essentials plan at $19.95/mo, the cheapest paid plan.
Pro: 105 USD/monthly.
Twilio SendGrid costs $19.95/mo on the Essentials plan at 1,000 emails/month, 1 seat, monthly billing. Amazon SES costs $105/mo (Pro plan), which is not cheaper than Twilio SendGrid Essentials at $19.95/mo in this scenario.
Capability comparison
Amazon SES covers 44% of the 9 capabilities compared against Twilio SendGrid. ✓ native · ◐ via integration · ✗ not found.
| Capability | Amazon SES | Twilio SendGrid |
|---|---|---|
| Transactional email API | ✓ | ✓ |
| SMTP & REST API | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email templates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Delivery analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email address validation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dedicated IP | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom sending/tracking domain | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dedicated IP | ✓ | ✓ |
| Event webhooks | ✗ | ✓ |
What you give up
Capabilities Twilio SendGrid has that Amazon SES lacks.
- SMTP & REST API — Send transactional email via SMTP or a REST API.Missing from Amazon SES.
- Email templates — Start a transactional email from a pre-built template.Missing from Amazon SES.
- Delivery analytics — Track delivery, opens, and bounces for sent email.Missing from Amazon SES.
- Custom sending/tracking domain — Send and track email from your own domain.Missing from Amazon SES.
- Event webhooks — Get notified of email events like opens or bounces via webhook.Missing from Amazon SES.
Plans & pricing, side by side
Advertised prices in USD as observed on the official pricing pages — per-seat and transaction-fee plans are marked.
| À la carte | Contact sales |
| Essentials | Free |
| Pro | $105/mo |
| Enterprise | $500/mo |
| Free plan (AWS Free Tier) | Free |
| Essentials | $19.95/mo |
| Pro | $89.95/mo |
| Premier | Contact sales |
Frequently asked
What does Amazon SES lack compared with Twilio SendGrid?
SMTP & REST API, Email templates, Delivery analytics, Custom sending/tracking domain, Event webhooks — 5 of the 9 compared capabilities.
When were these prices checked?
Twilio SendGrid: 2026-10-28; Amazon SES: 2026-10-26 — on the official pricing pages.
Who switched
Anonymous: no account, no email, no IP stored. Reports are shown once a switch has 3 or more and never change ranking or order — alternatives are computed from prices and capabilities only.
Sources & freshness
- https://www.twilio.com/en-us/products/email-api/pricing (official_pricing, checked 2026-10-28)
- https://www.sendgrid.com/en-us/pricing (official_pricing, checked 2026-10-26)
- https://sendgrid.com/en-us/solutions/email-api (feature_page, checked 2026-10-26)
- Amazon SES data last verified 2026-10-26