EU alternative to SendGrid: the honest comparison.
We're biased: SMTP Senpai is our service. That's why you'll only find facts here, with a source for every figure about SendGrid. In some cases SendGrid is the better choice, and we tell you so.
14 days free · up to 100 emails a day · card required · if you don't cancel within 14 days, the plan you chose starts
- From €12.90/month for 10,000 emails, on the annual plan
- 90-day sending log
- Support in English and Italian
SMTP Senpai and SendGrid, row by row
We are biased: SMTP Senpai is our service. That is why every fact about SendGrid links to its official source at the bottom of the page.
| SMTP Senpai (annual plan) | SendGrid (monthly) | |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 emails a month | €12.90/month | No 10,000 plan: the first paid plan is Essentials 50k, $19.95/month (about €17.70) |
| 20,000 emails a month | €22.90/month | Essentials 50k: $19.95/month (about €17.70) |
| 50,000 emails a month | €35.02/month | Essentials 50k: $19.95/month (about €17.70) |
| 100,000 emails a month | €43.10/month | Essentials 100k: $34.95/month (about €31.01). Pro 100k, with dedicated IP: $89.95/month (about €79.82) |
| With the 3-month plan | €25.80 (10,000) · €45.80 (20,000) · €70.04 (50,000) · €86.20 (100,000) per month | Same monthly price list |
| Emails beyond your plan | You choose: «Stop» (sending paused, no charge) or «Continue» in blocks of 1,000 up to the spending cap you set | Charged one by one: from $0.00088 to $0.00133 per email, depending on the plan |
| Payment | Annual, 6-month or 3-month | Monthly |
| Trial | 14 days, up to 100 emails a day. Card required, no charge if you cancel before it ends | 60 days, 100 emails a day, no card. The permanent free plan was withdrawn in 2025 |
| Sending log | 90 days, line by line, also via API | Email Logs: 30 days, cannot be extended. Email Activity: 3 days on Essentials, 7 on Pro |
| Report | Weekly report every Monday, with what to fix | Statistics and delivery data in the dashboard |
| Support | Real people, in English and Italian, on every plan | 24/7 tickets for everyone, chat on paid plans, phone from Pro |
| Where the data is | Sending servers and sending log in the EU, on every plan | Global infrastructure. EU data residency only on the Pro and Premier plans |
| Invoice | EU invoice in euro, VAT handled for EU businesses (reverse charge with a valid VAT number) | Prices in dollars, card payment (invoice by agreement only from $12,000 a year) |
| Dedicated IP | From €15/month. Included from 150,000 emails a month, with 4 weeks of automatic warm-up | Included from Pro (from $89.95/month). Extra IPs: $30/month each |
| Bounce and complaint thresholds | No automatic block at a threshold: bounces and complaints go to suppression, we alert you and tell you what to fix. Immediate suspension only for spam or lists without consent (Terms, art. 12-ter) | Account under review or suspended in case of reputation problems; if suspended, mail stays queued for up to 72 hours |
| SMTP connection | Port 2525 with STARTTLS. You change 4 settings: server, port, username, password | smtp.sendgrid.net, ports 25, 587, 2525 and 465. Username «apikey» plus API key |
| API | Yes, including reading the log. Plus an address for your website forms | API v3 with official libraries |
| AI assistants | Ready-made prompt for Lovable, Bolt, Cursor and Supabase | Twilio MCP server for looking up the documentation |
Prices verified on 7 October 2026. SendGrid: public monthly price list in dollars, taxes and extra emails excluded; euro at the ECB rate of 6 October 2026 (€1 = $1.1269). SMTP Senpai: prices in euro, excluding VAT. Annual plan: for example €154.80 a year for 10,000 emails. With the 6-month plan: €20.64 / €36.64 / €56.03 / €68.96 per month; 3-month plan: see the row in the table.
It depends on what you need. We will tell you straight.
When SendGrid is the better fit
- You send 20,000 to 100,000 emails a month and only look at the price: from 20,000 emails upwards SendGrid's price list is lower than ours.
- You want to pay month by month, without a fixed-term plan.
- You want a long trial without a card: SendGrid's trial lasts 60 days.
- You have very large volumes or a large technical team: subusers, single sign-on (SSO), up to 1,000 users on Pro.
- You already use Twilio for SMS or WhatsApp and want a single provider.
When SMTP Senpai is the better fit
- You send about 10,000 emails a month: SendGrid has no 10,000 plan. With us you start at €12.90 a month, on the annual plan.
- You want sending and the log in the EU without moving to a higher plan.
- You need a long history: 90 days of sending log, line by line.
- You want support from real people in English and Italian, and an EU invoice in euro with VAT handled for EU businesses.
- You want a spending cap: you decide whether to stop or pay for extra emails.
- You build with an AI assistant: you get a ready-made prompt to paste.
Four details, any software
WordPress, business software, websites, automations: if it has an «SMTP server» setting (the one for sending email), it works with us. Enter server, port, username and password: your emails leave from our servers in the name of your domain.
Copilot
Cursor
Lovable
Bolt
Replit
Supabase
Firebase
Vercel
Netlify
n8n
FramerTrademarks belong to their respective owners and are mentioned only to show compatibility.
Switching from SendGrid in 4 steps
The screenshots are real ones from the customer area, with a sample domain.
Change 4 settings
Server, port 2525 with STARTTLS, username and password instead of smtp.sendgrid.net and the «apikey» username. If you use the API, you change the address and the key.
Verify your domain
We give you the exact DNS records and we check them for you. You can keep SendGrid's records active until you're done.
Test with your own emails
Up to 100 a day for 14 days: password resets, order confirmations, website forms. The log shows you what was delivered.
Move your volume
When everything works, choose your plan and move all your sending there. Then switch off your SendGrid credentials.
Everything you need, ready to go
Credentials and API
Server, port, username and password to copy, or an API key. Ready-made examples for PHP, WordPress and command line.
One-click test
A button sends a verification email with your credentials: if it arrives, the connection works.
Spending cap
When your volume runs out, sending stops with no charges. Or keep going, in blocks of 1,000 emails, up to the cap you choose.
90-day log
Every delivery, line by line, with the reason for each bounce. Search by address or domain and filter by outcome.
Website forms, included
An address for your website form, even on a static site: anti-bot filter, auto-reply and archive.
Dedicated IP from €15 a month
An address all your own when you need it: we warm it up step by step over the first 4 weeks. Included from 150,000 emails a month.
Support made of people
We are truly satisfied with MailSenpai’s services because they managed to interpret our particular email-marketing experimentation needs effectively and efficiently. As we are not experts, their Support Team trained our staff on the tools in a reasonable time for everyone. […]
EVERYTHING! Easy to use, innovative and complete features and above all the customer service and the dedicated coach! I strongly recommend this provider to everyone who wants to perform and scale their business at its best!!!
Competent Italian service
I tried several email marketing platforms (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign) but MailSenpai is the one that convinced me most. Customer support is fast and super competent, they solved technical problems for me within a few hours. […]
The email marketing platform I was looking for
MailSenpai is truly one of the few companies that let you send large volumes of email and build automations other platforms don’t allow. It also offers support in Italian, which almost nobody does. […]
Great ally for effective email campaigns
I have been using MailSenpai for several months and I am very happy: it is intuitive, fast and perfect for running effective email campaigns. The automations and detailed statistics help me save time and improve results. Recommended!
My new experience with mailsenpai…
My new experience with mailsenpai was excellent, I was carefully guided through every step, from purchase to scheduling, they are true professionals in the field.
Positive experience with Mailsenpai!
An absolutely positive experience! […] The sending speed of campaigns and how easy it is to find and read the statistics play a key role, as does the effective support service, always available and attentive to business needs. Highly recommended!
The email marketing service I was looking for
The added value? The team! Always available and very quick to answer, which is rare in this field. I got dedicated support to optimise my campaigns and the results showed right away: more engagement, more conversions and optimised delivery!
Top platform for email marketing
We have been using this platform for 4 years to send our newsletters and, besides working and performing perfectly, it gives us the utmost availability from support to fine-tune every setting and for any problem or doubt. Recommended!!
Fast, timely support
Fast and timely support, excellent!
Reliability, professionalism, listening and understanding of the problem, excellent support.
It's always possible to inbox without issues!
Frequently asked questions
Is SendGrid still free?
Not as a permanent plan: SendGrid withdrew its free plan in 2025. Today there is a 60-day trial with 100 emails a day, no card. After that you need a paid plan.
How much does SendGrid cost in 2026?
The public price list starts at $19.95 a month (Essentials, 50,000 emails). For 100,000 emails: $34.95 (Essentials) or $89.95 (Pro, with dedicated IP). Emails beyond the plan are charged separately. Prices verified on 7 October 2026.
Does SendGrid keep data in the EU?
Yes, but only on the Pro and Premier plans, with a subuser and an IP dedicated to the EU. With us, sending servers and the sending log are in the EU on every plan.
Do I need to change my code to switch to SMTP Senpai?
If you send via SMTP, no: you change server, port, username and password. If you use the SendGrid API, the call needs to be adapted to our API.
How long is the sending log kept?
With us 90 days, line by line, also via API. On SendGrid, Email Logs cover 30 days and cannot be extended.
What happens if I run out of emails for the month?
You decide in advance. «Stop»: sending pauses with no charge. «Continue»: you pay for blocks of 1,000 emails up to the spending cap you set.
Can I get a dedicated IP?
Yes, from €15 a month, and it is included from 150,000 emails a month. During the first 4 weeks we warm it up for you, step by step.
The most useful comparison is with your own emails
Connect your app or website, send your real emails and check the log line by line. Then decide.
14 days free · up to 100 emails a day · card required · if you don't cancel within 14 days, the plan you chose starts
Where the data comes from
- SendGrid Email API pricing
- SendGrid price list in PDF (extra emails and support by plan)
- Withdrawal of the free plan
- Email Logs: 30 days
- Email Activity Feed
- EU data residency
- Dedicated IPs and price of extra IPs
- Support channels
- Account under review or suspended
- Billing and payments
- SMTP connection
- Twilio MCP server
- SMTP Senpai prices for every term (calculator)
- SMTP Senpai Terms, art. 12-bis and 12-ter
SendGrid and Twilio are trademarks of their respective owners. MailSenpai is not affiliated with SendGrid or Twilio, and this page is not endorsed by SendGrid or Twilio. This page compares public data checked on 7 October 2026: prices may change. If something has changed, write to us from the contact page and we will correct it.
€0 todayTry it free