You built your project with Windsurf because you wanted an AI pair-programmer that understands your full-stack codebase. The IDE handles real-time code transformations and works across your entire project. Now you need email infrastructure that integrates cleanly without adding complexity to your workflow.

Windsurf excels at AI-assisted development for serious projects. The platform provides context-aware completions and refactoring across multiple files. Your email platform needs to complement this workflow, whether you are building a Next.js app, a Python backend, or something more complex.

This guide covers 11 email marketing tools that work well for Windsurf-built applications. I focused on platforms that handle both transactional and marketing needs, since most SaaS products need both. If you are using a different AI code editor, check out our guides for Cursor, Claude Code, or GitHub Copilot.

Quick Comparison

Tool	Best For	Price at 10k Subs	Unified Platform	Automation
Sequenzy	SaaS with Stripe	$49/mo	Yes	Advanced
Customer.io	Team workflows	$100+/mo	Separate	Advanced
Resend	Clean API	$20/mo (volume)	No	None
Loops	Fast setup	$79/mo	Yes	Moderate
SendGrid	Scale	$20-$90/mo	Partial	Moderate
Postmark	Reliability	$15/mo (volume)	No	Basic
ActiveCampaign	CRM included	$29+/mo	Add-on	Advanced
Mailgun	Developer docs	$35/mo	No	Basic
Userlist	B2B focus	$100+/mo	Yes	Advanced
Drip	Automation	$39/mo	Yes	Advanced
Brevo	Budget + SMS	Free-$25/mo	Yes	Moderate

1. Sequenzy

Price: Free (100 subscribers) / $49/mo at 10,000 subscribers. Transactional emails included at no extra cost.

Windsurf projects often need both transactional emails (password resets, receipts) and marketing (onboarding sequences, product updates). Sequenzy handles both in one platform with one sender reputation, eliminating the complexity of juggling multiple tools.

The platform was built specifically for SaaS founders, not retrofitted from e-commerce. Advanced sequences with behavioral triggers handle onboarding, trial conversion, and churn prevention automatically. The AI generates complete email flows from a description, which pairs well with Windsurf's AI-first development approach.

Stripe OAuth syncs MRR, LTV, and payment events automatically. Segment by "churned last month" or "annual plan users" without custom code. The revenue attribution shows which emails drive actual MRR, not just opens.

Sequenzy's REST API works with any language or framework you are building in Windsurf. Clean endpoints, comprehensive documentation, predictable behavior.

Where it falls short: No SMS messaging, no landing page builder. For multi-channel beyond email, pair with additional tools.

Best for: SaaS founders who want unified transactional and marketing email with Stripe integration. At $49/mo for 10k subscribers, it beats Customer.io ($100+) and ActiveCampaign ($149). Small founder friendly with direct support.

2. Customer.io

Price: From $100/mo for up to 5,000 profiles

Customer.io is the sophisticated automation platform for teams with complex requirements. If your customer journey has many branches and multi-channel needs, Customer.io handles it.

The visual workflow builder is powerful. Complex branching, A/B tests, multi-channel messaging across email, push, SMS, and in-app. The event API tracks user behavior and triggers appropriate responses.

For Windsurf projects with dedicated marketing teams and budget, Customer.io provides enterprise-grade capabilities.

Where it falls short: Expensive. Steep learning curve. Transactional email requires separate product.

Best for: Established products with complex customer journeys.

3. Resend

Price: Free (3,000 emails/month) / $20/mo for 50,000 emails

Resend offers excellent developer experience for transactional email. Clean API, sensible error messages, thorough documentation. Windsurf's AI can help you write Resend integrations in any language.

Where it falls short: Not a marketing platform. No sequences, no automation.

Best for: Teams needing excellent transactional email who will add separate marketing.

4. Loops

Price: Free (1,000 contacts) / $79/mo at 10,000 subscribers

Loops combines transactional and marketing with a minimal, modern approach. Fast setup, clean interface, focused features.

Where it falls short: Basic automation. Costs more than Sequenzy.

Best for: Founders prioritizing simplicity.

5. SendGrid

Price: Free (100 emails/day) / $20-$90/mo at scale

SendGrid is enterprise infrastructure. Massive volume handling, dedicated IPs available. Both transactional API and Marketing Campaigns included.

Where it falls short: Cluttered interface. Marketing features lag behind.

Best for: High-volume requirements.

6. Postmark

Price: From $15/mo for 10,000 emails

Postmark focuses on deliverability. If transactional emails must arrive reliably, Postmark excels.

Where it falls short: Marketing features are basic.

Best for: Critical transactional reliability.

7. ActiveCampaign

Price: From $29/mo for 1,000 contacts

ActiveCampaign combines email marketing with CRM. If your Windsurf project has a sales-assisted motion, integrated CRM matters.

Where it falls short: Not SaaS-specific. Transactional is an add-on.

Best for: Products with sales teams needing CRM integration.

8. Mailgun

Price: From $35/mo

Mailgun provides developer-focused infrastructure. 99.99% uptime SLA, detailed logs, flexible configuration.

Where it falls short: Marketing automation is basic.

Best for: Teams wanting detailed infrastructure control.

9. Userlist

Price: From $100/mo

Userlist handles B2B SaaS with company-level tracking. If you sell to businesses, not individuals, Userlist understands that model.

Where it falls short: Expensive. B2B-specific features wasted on B2C.

Best for: B2B products selling to companies.

10. Drip

Price: From $39/mo

Drip offers solid event-based automation with revenue tracking. Custom events trigger sophisticated workflows.

Where it falls short: E-commerce heritage shows.

Best for: Event-based automation at reasonable cost.

11. Brevo

Price: Free (300 emails/day) / $25/mo at 20,000 emails

Brevo offers good value plus SMS. Multi-channel at budget prices.

Where it falls short: Mixed deliverability reports.

Best for: Budget-conscious founders needing SMS.

How to Choose

If you need unified platform

Sequenzy or Loops for transactional + marketing together. One sender reputation, one dashboard.

If you need sophisticated automation

Customer.io for complex flows. Sequenzy for advanced automation at lower cost.

If budget is tight

Brevo's free tier is generous. Sequenzy's free tier tests full functionality.

Integration Patterns

REST API calls

Every email platform works via REST. Windsurf's AI can generate integration code in any language you are using.

Stripe webhooks

Payment events trigger email sequences. Failed payments start dunning. Upgrades trigger welcome emails.

The Bottom Line

For Windsurf projects, Sequenzy offers the best balance: unified transactional and marketing, advanced automation, Stripe integration, reasonable pricing. One tool handles everything.

If you need enterprise complexity, Customer.io. For pure transactional, Resend or Postmark.

See our SaaS email marketing guide for more context.

Check our guides for Cursor, Replit, or Bolt.new.