Alternatives · Email Sending
Bird Email alternatives
Bird Email compared with 5 alternatives: Twilio SendGrid, Mailgun, Amazon SES, Postmark and SMTP.com.
Bird Email has a free plan. Paid plans start at $15 per month, deposited to your Bird balance. 2 of the 5 alternatives are free or have a free plan. 2 more offer a free trial.
5 tools · Listings checked up to Oct 18, 2026 · Where the facts come from
At a glance
| Tool | Price | Free plan | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bird EmailThis tool | Free plan · from $15/mo | Yes | Web |
| Twilio SendGrid | Free trial · from $19.95/mo | Trial only | Web |
| Mailgun | Free plan · from $15/mo | Yes | Web |
| Amazon SES | Free trial | Trial only | Web |
| Postmark | Free plan · from $15/mo | Yes | Web |
| SMTP.com | From $25/mo | No | Web |
Price against what you get
Bird Email starts at $15 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. None of the 4 alternatives on this chart both scores higher and starts lower.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
How each one differs from Bird Email
- Free trial · from $19.95/mo
Twilio SendGrid
Twilio's email API and SMTP service, priced by monthly email volume
- Twilio SendGrid starts at $19.95 per month for 50,000 emails. Bird Email starts at $15 per month, deposited to your Bird balance.
- Bird Email has a free plan. Twilio SendGrid does not, though it has a free trial.
- Twilio SendGrid also covers email verification.
- Bird Email also covers email campaigns.
Suits: Developers adding transactional email to an app
- Free plan · from $15/mo
Mailgun
Email API and SMTP relay for developers, with list validation
- Mailgun starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails. Bird Email starts at $15 per month, deposited to your Bird balance.
- Mailgun also covers email verification.
- Bird Email also covers email campaigns.
Suits: Developers sending and receiving email from an app
- Free trial
Amazon SES
AWS email sending and receiving, paid per 1,000 emails
- Bird Email has a free plan. Amazon SES does not, though it has a free trial.
- Amazon SES also covers email verification.
- Bird Email also covers email campaigns.
Suits: Developers already running their apps on AWS
- Free plan · from $15/mo
Postmark
Transactional email API and SMTP, with broadcasts on a separate stream
- Postmark starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails. Bird Email starts at $15 per month, deposited to your Bird balance.
- Postmark also covers dMARC.
- Bird Email also covers email campaigns.
Suits: Software teams whose password resets and receipts must arrive fast
- From $25/mo
SMTP.com
SMTP relay and email API sold in monthly volume plans from 50,000
- SMTP.com starts at $25 per month for 50,000 emails. Bird Email starts at $15 per month, deposited to your Bird balance.
- Bird Email has a free plan. SMTP.com does not.
- Bird Email also covers email campaigns.
Suits: Senders who already need 50,000 emails a month or more
Limits worth knowing in Bird Email
- Bird Email has its own API: Bird says SparkPost integrations should be reviewed with an account team before moving traffic.
- Paid plans are deposits, not allowances: every email is charged at the plan's rate, and other Bird products draw on the same balance.
- Dedicated IPs and IP pools start with the $250 Growth plan.
- The free plan is limited to 50 emails a day and 1 sending domain.
Common questions
What are the alternatives to Bird Email?
The alternatives to Bird Email in this directory are Twilio SendGrid, Mailgun, Amazon SES, Postmark and SMTP.com. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Bird Email.
Is there a free alternative to Bird Email?
Yes. Mailgun and Postmark have a free plan alongside paid ones.
When were these prices checked?
Every listing on this page was checked on Oct 18, 2026, against the pages it cites. Vendors change prices without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.