Overview

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) and SendGrid approach email from different angles. SendGrid built its reputation on transactional email for developers. Brevo grew as an all-in-one marketing platform with transactional capabilities added later. See our Brevo comparison and SendGrid comparison for more details.

The right choice depends on whether you prioritize developer tools or marketing features.

The Core Difference

SendGrid is a developer-first email API. It powers transactional email for companies like Uber, Spotify, and Airbnb. The API documentation, webhooks, and delivery infrastructure are excellent.

Brevo is a marketing-first platform. It bundles email campaigns, SMS, WhatsApp, live chat, and CRM. Transactional email is included but not the primary focus.

Pricing Comparison

Brevo charges per email sent with unlimited contacts. At 20,000 emails/month, you pay $25 on the Starter plan. This works well for large lists with moderate email frequency.

SendGrid has separate pricing for Email API and Marketing Campaigns. You might need two subscriptions if you want both transactional and marketing capabilities. Marketing Advanced starts at $60/month for 10k contacts.

Transactional Email

SendGrid wins for transactional email. The API is more comprehensive, webhooks are more detailed, and the developer experience is polished. Built-in email validation and dedicated IPs make high-volume sending easier.

Brevo handles transactional email but with a simpler API. It works for most use cases but power users may find it limiting.

Marketing Capabilities

Brevo wins for marketing. The visual email builder, automation workflows, and segmentation are more developed than SendGrid's marketing tools.

Brevo also includes SMS and WhatsApp natively, plus live chat. SendGrid relies on Twilio integration for SMS.

When Each Platform Shines

Choose SendGrid when: You prioritize transactional email. Your team has developer resources. You need enterprise-grade deliverability. You're already in the Twilio ecosystem.

Choose Brevo when: You want all-in-one marketing. You need SMS and chat alongside email. You prefer per-email pricing. Your marketing team needs independence from engineering.

For SaaS Companies

Both platforms serve SaaS companies but neither is built specifically for software businesses. SendGrid handles transactional email well. Brevo adds marketing capabilities.

Neither understands subscriptions or billing. For Stripe integration and SaaS-specific automation, consider Sequenzy.